Highly porous and biodegradable Degrapol®-foam as substrate for the formation of neo-cartilage: In vitro evaluations

In the present study primary bovine-and rat-chondrocytes were used to examine the usefulness of DegraPol-foam, a biodegradable and highly porous polyesterurethane-scaffold (pore size 100-300 μm), as substrate for the formation of neo- cartilage. Chondrocytes exhibited high cell attachment and cell growth. They maintained their phenotype including the expression of collagen type II and chondroitin sulfate. Six days after seeding, chondrocytes exhibited on the surface of the foam a confluent cell multilayer ...