AO Reserach Insitute Davos, Suisse

Hyaluronic acid hydrogels for intervertebral disc and cartilage regenrerative strategies : from design and fabrication to in vitro, ex-vivo and in vivo assessments.

In this seminar, the development chain of a biomaterial for an intended clinical application will be presented, taking the case of hyaluronan-based hydrogels as an example. Hyaluronan is widely used in the clinical practice and in biomedical research and its properties can be modulated through chemical modification. Starting from the clinical issues and needs involved in cartilage and intervertebral disc regeneration, the synthesis and processing of various hyaluronan-based materials will be presented. As a next step, the biological response to the produced materials will be reported, from simple in vitro tests to more elaborated ex-vivo setups (including bioreactors) and in vivo evaluation. In the last part of the talk, recent developments of the hyaluronan-based materials will be presented, including 3D printing and photopolymerization of tyramine-functionalized hyaluronan, optimization of cell/ink behavior, and adhesion to cartilage tissue.