Innovative Scaffold Design for Soft Tissue-to-Bone Interface Tissue Engineering

Soft tissue-based ACL reconstruction grafts are limited by their inability to reestablish a functional interface with bone tissue[1–2]. The native ACL-bone interface consists of three regions: ligament, fibrocartilage, and bone[3–5]. Graft integration is a critical factor governing its clinical success, and the regeneration of an anatomic interface on synthetic or biological ACL grafts will improve clinical outcome. Our interface tissue engineering effort has focused on biomimetic scaffold design to recapitulate the inherent complexity of the ligament-to-bone interface and ultimately, to guide interface regeneration. To this end, we have designed a tri-phasic scaffold comprised of three distinct yet continuous phases, each designed for the formation of a specific tissue type found at the ACL-to-bone interface, as well as a bi-phasic collar to promote the formation of fibrocartilage on ACL reconstruction grafts and also enhance osteointegration.Copyright © 2011 by ASME