Enhancing the Biomechanical Properties of Self-Assembled, Costochondral Cell Neocartilage Through Modulation of Seeding Density and Expansion Media

Abstract

Disorders of the soft tissues of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), including the TMJ disc and cartilages, have elicited work in engineering tissue replacements; these must be able to function within the joint’s mechanically demanding environment. Such efforts are met with the challenges of 1) identifying a suitable source of donor cells and 2) expanding these cells while maintaining a phenotype that generates mechanically robust tissue.