Spinal disc implants using hydrogels

Hydrogel-Based Platforms for the Regeneration of Osteochondral Tissue and Intervertebral Disc

“…As for the viscoelastic properties, storage modulus and loss modulus were evaluated over a wide range of frequencies, evidencing the ability of these materials to reproduce the gel-like behavior of the nucleus. Furthermore, the injection through clinical catheters did not affect their rheological behavior [111,139].…”

“…In particular, in the field of natural polymers, hyaluronic acid (HA) has attracted researchers' attention, as it has been identified among the glycosaminoglycans present in the nucleus [116]. It is already employed in several biomedical applications (i.e., ophtalmological surgery, orthopaedic fields) as a consequence of its physical, chemical and biological properties [138,139]. However, the fast degradation process of HA and, hence, its short residence time, together with its poor mechanical properties strongly limit its biomedical applications [111,139].…”

“…For this reason, different chemical modifications of native hyaluronan have been carried out to obtain chemically and mechanically robust materials, expanding its range of application [139,140]. Revell et al (2007) [141] previously demonstrated that two hyaluronic acid derivatives HYADD3 ® and HYAFF120 ® , display properties that could be interesting for tissue engineering applications.…”

Nucleus regeneration

“…There are several causes of back pain, even if it may be strongly related to the degeneration of the intervertebral disc. For this reason, disc disorders have been widely studied as mechanisms for low back pain (nachemson, 1985;Alini et al, 2003;borzacchiello et al, 2011). The role of the intervertebral disc is to transmit and distribute loads on the spine while providing flexibility in the spinal column.…”

“…Furthermore, it has been suggested that the lack of an adequate nutritional supply negatively affects cell metabolism and viability, causing degradation of the nucleus pulposus and damage of the other spinal structures (Cole et al, 1985;Alini et al, 2003). Disc alterations are also due to genetic factors and associated with or aggravated by mechanical factors (Kazarian, 1975;Keller et al, 1987;Kiviranta et al, 1987;ohshima et al, 1995;Paassilta et al, 2001;Alini et al, 2003;borzacchiello et al, 2011).…”