Osteochondral implants, arthroplasty methods, devices, and systems

Abstract

Implants for resurfacing or repairing one or more articular cartilage bearing surfaces of a biological organism include an engineered tissue and a biocompatible porous substrate secured to the engineered tissue for attaching the implant to a native bone of the biological organism. The engineered tissue includes a scaffold containing a biocompatible material, and a plurality of living chondrocytes supported by the scaffold. Methods for culturing chondrocytes for incorporation into a biocompatible implant are provided. A bioreactor for producing functional cartilaginous tissue from a cell-seeded scaffold and a system for producing functional cartilaginous tissue are also provided.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for culturing chondrocytes for incorporation into a biocompatible implant, the method comprising:
 passaging a plurality of adult living chondrocytes in the presence of one or more growth factors,   suspending the chondrocytes in a gelable scaffold material,   culturing the chondrocytes and the gelable scaffold material in a medium comprising transforming growth factor-beta3 (TGF-beta3).   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising casting the suspension of chondrocytes and gelable scaffold material into one or more slabs. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  further comprising coring the one or more slabs to create one or more disks. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising securing the suspension of chondrocytes and gelable scaffold material to a biocompatible porous substrate. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the securing comprises transferring the suspension of chondrocytes and gelable scaffold material to a mold and immersing the biocompatible porous substrate into the chondrocytes and gelable scaffold material, the porous substrate being substantially free of trabecular bone. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the biocompatible porous substrate comprises a metal. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the biocompatible porous substrate comprises tantalum. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the porous substrate comprises a porous substrate selected from the group consisting of synthetic polymers and biologic materials. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8  wherein the synthetic polymer is selected from the group consisting of polycaprolactone, poly-l-lactic acid, and polyglycolic acid. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8  wherein the biologic material is selected from the group consisting of collagen and hydroxyapatite. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the passaging comprises passaging chondrocytes obtained from an autologous donor. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the passaging comprises passaging chondrocytes obtained from an allogeneic donor. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the passaging comprises passaging adult canine chondrocytes. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the passaging comprises passaging the chondrocytes in the continuous presence of one or more growth factors. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the suspending comprises suspending the chondrocytes in an agarose gelable scaffold material. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the suspending comprises suspending the chondrocytes in a low-melt agarose gelable scaffold material. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the suspending comprises mixing a volume of a chondrocyte suspension with an approximately equal volume of about 4% agarose to yield a final agarose concentration of about 2%. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the suspending comprises suspending the chondrocytes in the gelable scaffold material to yield a chondrocyte concentration of about 10 million cells/ml to about 60 million cells/ml. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein the suspending comprises suspending the chondrocytes in the gelable scaffold material to yield a chondrocyte concentration of about 30 million cells/ml. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the culturing comprises culturing the chondrocytes and gelable scaffold material for a period of about 28 days to about 60 days. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the culturing comprises culturing the chondrocytes and gelable scaffold material for a period of about 8 weeks. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the culturing comprises culturing the chondrocytes and gelable scaffold material for 60 days with continuous TGF-beta3 supplementation. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the culturing comprises culturing the chondrocytes and gelable scaffold material in a medium which is substantially serum-free.