关节软骨缺损由于缺乏自愈性目前仍没有有效的治疗方法。传统疗法如骨髓刺激技术和关节置换术在减轻疼痛方面是有效的，但它们不能再生成具有正常形态和功能的健康透明软骨。另外，由于这些治疗方法无法逆转软骨损伤，损伤部位可能会恶化并需要进行二次手术，严重者将导致关节功能障碍和永久性残疾。如今，软骨组织工程已成为修复软骨缺损的另一种有前景的方法。但所需的材料常因缺乏有效的组织整合性而导致软骨再生受阻，同时传统的水凝胶力学性能差而导致再生的组织缺乏与正常组织相匹配的力学特性。因此，寻找同时兼备良好的组织整合特性、强力学的材料来进行原位骨软骨缺损修复是目前最大的挑战。

浙江大学医学院欧阳宏伟教授课题组针对这一问题，制备了一种具有原位成型并和组织无痕整合特性的水凝胶(M-O-G)，能够更好修复骨软骨缺损。该水凝胶同时具有以下特征：1.可注射原位成型，能够促进胶体与组织的整合；2.可调的力学特性，模拟天然软骨的力学特性，杨氏模量接近天然软骨外植体（0.4MPa）；3.强大的组织整合性，水凝胶上的醛基基团与组织上蛋白的氨基发生键合，两者紧密整合，有利于宿主细胞的迁移，新组织的生成；4.“无痕”修复，该水凝胶能有效的修复骨软骨缺损，且新生软骨与原位软骨之间无缝连接（新生软骨与原位软骨不能有效整合会导致软骨修复失败，这也是目前软骨修复常见的问题），同时新生软骨的杨氏模量与天然软骨接近。

该工作得到国家重点研发计划项目和国家自然基金等项目的支持，成果论文“Tough hydrogel with enhanced tissue integration and in situ forming capability for osteochondral defect repair”近日发表在Applied Materials Today上。（来源：科技部）

Tough hydrogel with enhanced tissue integration and in situ forming capability for osteochondral defect repair

Abstract  Articular cartilage repair still remains a major challenge in today's clinical practice due to its poor self-healing capacity. Therefore, it is essential to develop a promising strategy to achieve a one-step cartilage repair for patients suffering from joint diseases and traumas. Inspired by the complex composition and microscopic architecture of native articular cartilage, an injectable hydrogel (M-O-G) with tough mechanical property and strong tissue adhesiveness is developed. All hydrogel material compositions are natural polymers or their derivatives resemble the normal cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM). This hydrogel showed superior tunable mechanical properties (mechanical strength ≈270 kPa, compressibility ≈70%) and rapid recovery ability. Moreover, it exhibited strong adhesiveness and enhanced integration with tissues. Further studies demonstrated that the hydrogel had good biocompatibility and superior performance in cartilage defect regeneration. Thus, the presented hydrogel is a promising biomaterial for clinical cartilage regeneration and other biomedical applications.

原文链接：https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352940718303305