Mechanical evaluation of a tissue-engineered zone of calcification in a bone-hydrogel osteochondral construct

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that mechanical properties of artificial osteochondral constructs can be improved by a tissue-engineered zone of calcification at the bone-hydrogel interface. Experimental push-off tests were performed on osteochondral constructs with or without a tissue-engineered zone of calcification. In parallel, a numerical model of the osteochondral defect treatment was developed and validated against experimental results. .Experimental results showed that the shear strength at the bone-hydrogel interface increased by 100% with the tissue-engineered zone of calcification. Numerical predictions of the osteochondral defect treatment showed that the shear stress at the bone-hydrogel interface was reduced with the tissue-engineered zone of calcification. We conclude that a tissue-engineered zone of calcification in osteochondral constructs can provide two improvements. First, it increases the strength of the bone-hydrogel interface, and second, it reduces the stress at this interface.