Biomaterials and scaffold design: key to tissue-engineering cartilage

Cartilage remains one of the most challenging tissues to reconstruct or replace, owing to its complex geometry in facial structures and mechanical strength at articular surfaces in joints. This non-vascular tissue has poor replicative capacity and damage results in its functionally inferior repair tissue, fibrocartilage. This has led to a drive for advancements in tissue engineering. The variety of polymers and fabrication techniques available continues to expand. Pore size, porosity, biocompatibility, shape specificity, integration with native tissue, degradation tailored to rate of neocartilage formation and cost efficiency are important factors which need consideration in the development of a scaffold. The present review considers the current polymers and fabrication methodologies used in scaffold engineering for cartilage and postulates whether we are closer to developing the ideal scaffold for clinical application.