Abstract

Injectable Nano-Matrix for Cartilage Tissue Chips

Yupeng Chen, Associate Professor, University of Connecticut

Absence of biomechanical loading in microgravity can result in articular cartilage degeneration. Once damaged, cartilage has very limited self-regeneration. Therefore, many biomaterial scaffolds have been developed for cartilage tissue engineering. Conventional solid scaffolds are not injectable so they have limitations for applications in “difficult-to-reach” locations, such as microchannels of tissue chips or deep-tissue damage; hydrogels are semisolid materials so they don’t have solid surface for cell anchorage which could be a limitation in space. To overcome this challenge, we have developed a family of self-assembled scaffolds, named Nano-Matrices (NMs). NMs are formed by the self-assembly between Janus base nanotubes (JBNTs, non-covalent nanotubes mimicking DNA base pairs) and extracellular matrix proteins (such as matrilin, a cartilage specific protein). We have also found that the NM presented synergistic functions from JBNTs and matrilin, which can create a micro-environment selectively promoting chondro-lineage cell growth and differentiation. Moreover, NMs, as a solid scaffold, have excellent injectability that can be applied in the microchannels of tissue chips to improve cartilage cells anchorage and functions. Therefore, the NM may be a suitable tissue engineering scaffold for cartilage tissue chips on Earth and in space.