Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200072, P. R. China.
Department of Orthopedics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400010, P. R. China.
Small. 2022 Jul;18(27):e2201147. doi: 10.1002/smll.202201147. Epub 2022 Jun 9.
Rupture of tendons and ligaments (T/L) is a major clinical challenge due to T/L possess anisotropic mechanical properties and hierarchical structures. Here, to imitate these characteristics, an approach is presented by fabricating hybrid nanofibrous composites. First, hybrid fiber-reinforced yarns are fabricated via successively electrospinning poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) and gelatin (Ge) nanofibers onto polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers to improve biodurability and biocompatibility. Then, by comparing different manufacturing methods, the knitted structure succeeds in simulating anisotropic mechanical properties, even being stronger than natural ligaments, and possessing comfort compliance superior to clinically used ligament advanced reinforcement system (LARS) ligament. Moreover, after inoculation with tendon-derived stem cells and transplantation in vivo, hybrid nanofibrous composites are integrated with native tendons to guide surrounding tissue ingrowth due to the highly interconnected and porous structure. The knitted hybrid nanofibrous composites are also ligamentized and remodeled in vivo to promote tendon regeneration. Specifically, after the use of optimized anisotropic hybrid nanofibrous composites to repair tendon, the deposition of tendon-associated extracellular matrix proteins is more significant. Thus, this study indicates a strategy of manufacturing anisotropic hybrid nanofibrous composites with superior mechanical properties and good histocompatibility for clinical reconstruction.
肌腱和韧带（T/L）的撕裂是一个主要的临床挑战，因为 T/L 具有各向异性的机械性能和分层结构。在这里，为了模仿这些特性，提出了一种通过制造混合纳米纤维复合材料的方法。首先，通过将聚（L-丙交酯-co-ε-己内酯）（PLCL）和明胶（Ge）纳米纤维依次静电纺丝到聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯（PET）纤维上，制造出混合纤维增强纱线，以提高生物耐久性和生物相容性。然后，通过比较不同的制造方法，针织结构成功模拟了各向异性的机械性能，甚至比天然韧带更强，并且具有优于临床使用的韧带高级增强系统（LARS）韧带的舒适顺应性。此外，在接种肌腱衍生的干细胞并在体内移植后，由于高度互连和多孔的结构，混合纳米纤维复合材料与天然肌腱整合，引导周围组织向内生长。针织混合纳米纤维复合材料也在体内被韧带化和重塑，以促进肌腱再生。具体来说，在使用优化的各向异性混合纳米纤维复合材料修复肌腱后，肌腱相关细胞外基质蛋白的沉积更为显著。因此，这项研究表明了一种制造具有优异机械性能和良好组织相容性的各向异性混合纳米纤维复合材料的策略，可用于临床重建。
