Question

3. You need to determine which degradable material to use as a tissue engineering scaffold for repair of a critical-sized bone defect. You are planning to seed the scaffold with cells and then implant it into the defect. While the cells proliferate and generate bone, the scaffold will degrade and create void space into which the new tissue may grow. What degradation method would you prefer for this scaffold material and why? (hydrolytic vs enzymatic degradation and bulk vs surface degradation)

Answer 1

hydrolytic degradation

bulk degradation

Step-by-step explanation:

hydrolytic degradation would be preferred over enzymatic degradation due to the consistency of the aqueous environment between patients, and no need to target the degradation area (it is in the defect site, localized, and is accessible by water).

Bulk degradation over surface degradation as the scaffold would also be preferred, due to consistent dimensions over a period of time, compared to surface degradation that could loosen before sufficient repair tissue has developed, or any seeded cells could detach from the scaffold.