Emerging Nanomedicine Approaches for Osteochondral Tissue Regeneration

Osteochondral defects affect both the articular cartilage and subchondral bone. Current surgical repair strategies vary according to the nature and size of the lesion. Moreover, most clinical approaches have been shown to have limited capacity to treat severe lesions. Tissue engineering has emerged as an encouraging strategy that relies on the development of cellular or acellular scaffolds capable of repairing or regenerating the functions of damaged tissue. In particular, nanomaterials have been highlighted as promising candidates for improving traditional tissue engineering materials and improving the biomimetics surface properties of natural tissues. In this chapter, the current surgical interventions to treat osteochondral defects will be described and their limitations discussed. An overview of the nanomaterials developed for osteochondral regeneration will be presented, addressing their characteristics, advantages and drawbacks. A particular emphasis will be given to the most promising applications in order to present an extensive overview of the emerging approaches for osteochondral regenerative nanomedicine. © 2013 Scrivener Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.