Histology, biochemical and biomechanical analyzes of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate (PHBV) and loofah based hydrogel meniscus scaffolds

In the recent years, meniscus injuries have been the focus of orthopedic surgeons and musculoskeletal tissue engineering applications due to the changing daily activities of people. In this study, it was aimed to produce a composite scaffold for the treatment of meniscus injuries. In the study, three different scaffolds which contain chitosan, chitosan/loofah and chitosan/loofah/PHBV were produced. Properties of these scaffolds were investigated at different genipin ratios. In order to produce these scaffolds, wet electro spinning and lyophilization techniques were used. There were several characterizations performed such as Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) for the investigation of chemical structure, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for morphological analysis, compression test due to the axiel loads meniscus faced, also Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) and swelling tests. A new composite meniscus scaffold was produced by using natural materials. The ones with genipin cross-linked have been shown to give better results than others. The addition of loofah as a natural cellulose source, has a positive effect on both durability and swelling properties of the scaffolds. However, at the beginning of the study it was thought that the PHBV additive would strengthen the scaffolds and it was thought to show a huge difference among the other groups. As a result, there is not a significant difference among the three scaffold groups. Key Words: Cartilage Tissue Engineering, Loofah, Chitosan, PHBV