Implants for Bone and Cartilage Repair

Abstract

An implant for the repair of bone and cartilage that includes a cell conductive zone that contains biopolymeric fibers and an osteoconductive zone that contains biopolymeric fibers and calcium-containing mineral particles. The biopolymeric fibers from one zone overlaps with the fibers in the other zone forming a stable physical and mechanical integration of the two zones thus conferring in vivo stability to the implant.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A biocompatible and bioresorbable implant having a physically and mechanically stable bi-phasic structure for the repair of bone and cartilage, comprising a cell conductive zone that contains a first matrix including first biopolymeric fibers, and an osteoconductive zone that contains a second matrix including second biopolymeric fibers and calcium-containing mineral particles, wherein the cell conductive zone is free of calcium-containing mineral particles, the first biopolymeric fibers extend into the osteoconductive zone and overlap with the second biopolymeric fibers, and the cell conductive zone overlaps with and is in direct contact with the osteoconductive zone. 
     
     
         2 . The implant of  claim 1 , wherein the first biopolymeric fibers include a protein. 
     
     
         3 . The implant of  claim 2 , wherein the protein is a fibrillar collagen. 
     
     
         4 . The implant of  claim 3 , wherein the collagen is type I collagen, type II collagen, or type III collagen. 
     
     
         5 . The implant of  claim 1 , wherein the calcium-containing mineral particles include synthetic or natural calcium-containing compounds. 
     
     
         6 . The implant of  claim 1 , wherein the first matrix has a density of 0.03 g/cm 3  to 0.8 g/cm 3  and a compressive modulus of 0.05 N/cm 2  to 10 N/cm 2 . 
     
     
         7 . The implant of  claim 6 , wherein the shape of the implant is a circular cylinder. 
     
     
         8 . The implant of  claim 7 , wherein the implant has a length of 0.3 cm to 2 cm and a diameter of 0.2 cm to 3 cm. 
     
     
         9 . The implant of  claim 8 , wherein a content of mineral particles is from 30% to 95% by weight of the implant. 
     
     
         10 . The implant of  claim 9 , wherein a length of the cell conductive zone is 10% to 60% of the length of the implant. 
     
     
         11 . The implant of  claim 10 , wherein the implant length is 0.5 cm to 1.25 cm, the diameter is 0.5 cm to 1.5 cm, the content of mineral particles is from 60% to 90% by weight of the implant, the length of the cell conductive zone is 15% to 40% of the length of the implant, the calcium-containing compounds are carbonate-containing apatite, and the first matrix has a density of 0.05 g/cm 3  to 0.5 g/cm 3  and a compressive modulus of 0.1 N/cm 2  to 5.0 N/cm 2 . 
     
     
         12 . The implant of  claim 1 , further comprising a bioactive molecule. 
     
     
         13 . The implant of  claim 12 , wherein the bioactive molecule is a growth factor, a cell adhesive molecule, a cytokine, a glycoprotein, a proteoglycan, an antibiotic, or a polysaccharide. 
     
     
         14 . The implant of  claim 1 , further comprising cells. 
     
     
         15 . The implant of  claim 14 , wherein the cells are osteoblasts, chondrocytes, stem cells, or bone marrow cells. 
     
     
         16 . A biocompatible and bioresorbable implant for the repair of bone and cartilage, comprising a matrix that contains biopolymeric fibers, the matrix having a cell conductive zone and an osteoconductive zone, wherein the osteoconductive zone includes calcium-containing mineral particles, the cell conductive zone is free of calcium-containing mineral particles, the biopolymeric fibers extend from the cell conductive zone into the osteoconductive zone, and the cell conductive zone is in direct contact with the osteoconductive zone. 
     
     
         17 . The implant of  claim 16 , wherein the biopolymeric fibers include a fibrillar collagen and the calcium-containing mineral particles are present at 60% to 90% by weight of the implant. 
     
     
         18 . The implant of  claim 17 , wherein the fibrillar collagen is type I collagen and the calcium-containing mineral particles are carbonate apatite particles. 
     
     
         19 . The implant of  claim 18 , wherein the implant is cylindrical, having a length of 0.5 cm to 1.25 cm and a diameter of 0.5 cm to 1.5 cm, and the cell conductive zone has a length equal to 15% to 40% of the implant length. 
     
     
         20 . The implant of  claim 19 , wherein the cell conductive zone has a density of 0.05 g/cm 3  to 0.5 g/cm 3  and a compressive modulus of 0.1 N/cm 2  to 5 N/cm 2 .