Mussel‐Derived Bioadaptive Artificial Tendon Facilitates the Cell Proliferation and Tenogenesis to Promote Tendon Functional Reconstruction

Abstract

Tendon injuries range from acute‐related trauma to chronic‐related injuries are prevalent and bring substantial pain, functional loss, and even disability to the patients. The management of tendon injuries is tricky due to the innate limited regenerative capability of the tendon. Currently, surgical intervention of tendon injuries with artificial tendons remains the standard of care. However, most of artificial tendons are manufactured with synthetic materials, which possess relatively poor biomimetic characteristics and inadequate inherent biodegradability, hence rendering limited cell proliferation and migration for tendon healing. To address these limitations, this work develops a mussel‐derived artificial tendon based on double‐cross‐linked chitosan modification. In this design, decellularized artificial tendon serves as a natural biomimetic scaffold to facilitate the migration and adhesion of tendon repair cells. Additionally, as the cells proliferate, the artificial tendon can be degraded to facilitate tendon regeneration. Moreover, the chitosan cross‐linking further enhances the mechanical strength of artificial tendon and offers a controllable degradation. The in vitro and in vivo experimental results demonstrate that mussel‐derived artificial tendon not only accelerate the tendon functional reconstruction but also enable harmless clearance at postimplantation. The finding provides a promising alternative to conventional artificial tendons and spurs a new frontier to explore nature‐derived artificial tendons.

Dual-Drug-Loaded Core–Shell Electrospun Nanofiber Dressing for Deep Burns

“…Furthermore, the incorporation of CS into the shell would protonate the amino group and result in a positive charge on its surface . It promotes cell proliferation and migration through electrostatic interaction with negatively charged cell membranes . Moreover, the biosafety of D-NFD was further evaluated by the hemolysis test.…”

“…48 It promotes cell proliferation and migration through electrostatic interaction with negatively charged cell membranes. 49 Moreover, the biosafety of D-NFD was further evaluated by the hemolysis test. The hemolysis rate gradually increased from 0.62 to 4.46% with the addition amount of D-NFD from 2.5 to 10 mg/mL, which is still less than 5% (Figure 4G,H).…”