New bio-glass can help regrow cartilage

Scientists have developed a bio-glass material that can mimic cartilage and encourage it to re-grow, an advance that may lead to implants for replacing damaged cartilage discs between vertebrae.
Cartilage is flexible connective tissue found in places such as in joints and between vertebrae in the spine. Compared to other types of connective tissue, it is not easy to repair.
Scientists from Imperial College London in the UK and University of Milano-Bicocca in Italy have developed a bio-glass material that mimics the shock-absorbing and load bearing qualities of real cartilage.
It can be formulated to exhibit different properties, and researchers are now hoping to use it to develop implants for replacing damaged cartilage discs between vertebrae.

Scientists believe it also has the potential to encourage cartilage cells to grow in knees, which has previously not been possible with conventional methods.
The bio-glass consists of silica and a plastic or polymer called polycaprolactone. It displays cartilage-like properties including being flexible, strong, durable and resilient, researchers said.

It can be made in a biodegradable ink form, enabling the researchers to 3D print it into structures that encourage cartilage cells in the knee to form and grow - a process that they demonstrated in test tubes.
It also displays self-healing properties when it gets damaged, which could make it a more resilient and reliable implant, and easier to 3D print when it is in ink form.

One formulation developed by researchers could provide an alternative treatment for patients who have damaged their intervertebral discs.
When cartilage degenerates in the spine it leaves patients with debilitating pain and current treatment involves fusing the vertebrae together. This reduces a patient's mobility, researchers said.
Scientists believe they will be able to engineer synthetic bio-glass cartilage disc implants, which would have the same mechanical properties as real cartilage, but which would not need the metal and plastic devices that are currently available.
Another formulation could improve treatments for those with damaged cartilage in their knee, researchers said.
Surgeons can currently create scar-like tissue to repair damaged cartilage, but ultimately most patients have to have joint replacements, which reduces mobility, scientists said.

Researchers are aiming to 'print' tiny, biodegradable scaffolds using their bio-glass ink. These bio-degradable scaffolds would provide a template that replicates the structure of real cartilage in the knee.
When implanted, the combination of the structure, stiffness and chemistry of the bio-glass would encourage cartilage cells to grow through microscopic pores.
The idea is that over time the scaffold would degrade safely in the body, leaving new cartilage in its place that has similar mechanical properties to the original cartilage, researchers said.