Speaker
Description
The development of affordable and effective scaffolds for cartilage repair remains a major challenge in regenerative medicine. In this study, novel starch–gelatin (SG) hydrogels were fabricated by aqueous casting, freeze-drying, and annealing, with systematic variation of crosslinker concentration and annealing conditions to optimize their properties. The resulting scaffolds exhibited a highly porous and interconnected structure, while their mechanical, thermal, and physicochemical characteristics were strongly influenced by processing parameters. Swelling, compressive testing, and degradation in PBS at 37 °C demonstrated controlled water uptake and gradual resorption. Importantly, when tested with human chondrocytes, SG hydrogels exhibited markedly higher initial cell retention than both ChondroGide® and HyaloFast®, two widely used commercial scaffolds. Over a 42-day culture, they maintained excellent cytocompatibility and consistently supported cell growth, demonstrating superior chondroconductive properties in vitro compared to the commercial references. While clinical validation is still required, these results highlight SG hydrogels as low-cost, high-performance scaffolds with strong potential for future in vivo application in cartilage repair.
