Investigation of the use of multilayered decellularized amniotic membrane as A scaffold for articular cartilage

Cartilage degeneration occurs because of disorders caused by genetic, biomechanical, or biochemical factors in cartilage tissue. The articular cartilage does not have vascular, nerve and lymph systems so it has limited regeneration capacity. For this purpose, synthetic and natural scaffolds are used for joint cartilage regeneration in tissue engineering. Decellularization of natural tissues is preferred because it clears the cellular content and antigens of tissue, reduces inflammation and immune rejection. The use of amniotic membranes as a scaffold is being investigated in terms of its low immunogenicity, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, preventing wound formation, various growth factors that enhance cell proliferation, producing extracellular matrix proteins and cytokines. The amniotic membrane contains different types of collagen, glycosaminoglycans and fibronectin, such as the extracellular matrix of articular cartilage. In this study, it is planned to develop three-dimensional multi-layer decellularized amniotic membrane scaffolds for cartilage tissue. Decellularization of the amniotic membrane obtained from rats with the permission of the ethics committee was performed by physical and chemical methods. Characterization of decellularization was evaluated histochemical by performing Hematoxylin & Eosin staining. Later, decellularized amniotic membranes were made multilayered by placing the stromal layers face-to-face and suturing them in bundles. Multilayered scaffolds were tested for cell viability and cytotoxicity, for cell adhesion and biomechanically. Finally, the multilayered decellularized amniotic membrane investigated as a tissue scaffold for articular cartilage. It has been determined that multilayered scaffolds, especially the F group, have no cytotoxic effects, support cell viability and attachment and are biomechanically durable and flexible materials.