A team from the industrial research institute Innovent e.V. has been working in the field of biomaterials for over 10 years in the area of electrospinning for medical applications. One research focus is on the development of suitable materials for the treatment of tendon or ligament ruptures. Significant progress has been made in this field in recent years.
Due to the growing number of sports accidents and demographic change, which also contributes to increased numbers of cases of tendon and ligament ruptures due to increased tissue wear, there is a high demand for suitable replacement materials. The healing of torn ligaments and tendons is a painful, lengthy process and sometimes extremely problematic. These tissues often heal poorly or with scarring, which severely restricts mobility and resilience. For these reasons, innovative approaches are being sought to improve the chances of healing and reduce scarring of the tissue. Artificial tissue structures based on electrospun nonwovens with aligned microfibers are one way of achieving these goals and restoring almost complete functionality after the healing process.
The electrospinning process can be used to produce nano- and microfibers from a variety of polymers. With suitable process parameters, it is also possible to produce materials with aligned fibers. Such aligned fibers are particularly suitable as tendon replacement materials. Based on a biomaterial that can be degraded by the body, it has now been possible to generate matrices with highly aligned fibers that represent a suitable basis for replacement materials for tendons and ligaments. Both the mechanical properties and the degradation of the nonwoven materials met the target requirements. The biocompatibility of the material was also demonstrated in extensive in-vitro tests. In particular, it was shown how the fiber diameter and the orientation of the fibers affect cell differentiation, cell proliferation and cell alignment as well as the formation of a suitable extracellular matrix. Additional plasma treatment of a selected electrospun material further improved cell colonization and the formation of tissue structures. This material forms the basis for further investigations into the treatment of ligament and tendon ruptures. The work was published in, among others:
M. El Khatib et al, Molecules 2020, 25, 3176; doi:10.3390/molecules25143176
Source: Innovent e.V.
