Advancements in Cartilage Tissue Engineering: A Focused Review

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent joint disorder that is characterized by the degeneration of articular cartilage in synovial joints. Most of the current treatment options for this disorder tend to focus on symptom management rather than addressing the underlying progression of the disease. Cartilage tissue engineering has emerged as a promising approach to address the limitations of current OA treatments, aiming to regenerate cartilage and restore the natural function of affected joints. Like any other tissue engineering field, cartilage tissue engineering uses different fabrication techniques and biomaterials to develop the constructs. Numerous studies over the last few years have demonstrated the preclinical efficacy of tissue-engineered constructs in promoting cartilage regeneration and highlight the potential of tissue-engineered constructs as a viable therapeutic approach for OA. This paper aims to provide a focused review of advancements in tissue-engineered constructs over the past decade. Specifically, we highlight the constructs based on natural, synthetic, and composite biomaterials and the varying conventional and advanced fabrication techniques. We also highlight the challenges in state-of-the-art cartilage tissue engineering that must be overcome in the upcoming years to fully replicate the complex anatomy of the native cartilage. We believe that continued collaborative research efforts among researchers from various facets of engineering and clinicians are required to advance the field of cartilage tissue engineering and become a viable OA therapy.