Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate-co-4-Hydroxybutyrate) Simulated Cartilage Lacunae Scaffold Promotes Cell Proliferation and Cartilage Repair

The management of chondral defects is a challenging issue for scientists and surgeons. Herein, in order to simulate the microenvironment of the cartilage in vivo, we reported the fabrication and characterization of the bio-plasticpoly-3-hydroxybutyrate-4-hydroxybutyrate (P34HB) simulated cartilage lacunae scaffold. The characteristics of scaffold were tested by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Cell morphologies on scaffold were obtained using SEM and fluorescence microscopy. To investigate the safety and biological compatibility of the scaffold, cell adhesion and proliferation on scaffold were conducted using MTT and CCK-8 assays, respectively. Furthermore, full cartilage defects in rats were created and scaffolds were implanted to evaluate the healing effects within 8 weeks. This project provides new ideas and methods for the design and construction of cartilage repair scaffolds, which serves as useful reference in cartilage tissue engineering research.