Proefschrift Groningen. / Met lit.opg. en een samenvatting in het Nederlands.

Proefschrift Universiteit van Amsterdam. / Auteursnaam op omslag: Paul C. Rijk. Met lit. opg. - Met samenvatting in het Nederlands.

Proefschrift Universiteit Maastricht, 2002. / Met lit. opg. - Met samenvatting in het Nederlands.

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on July 13, 2010). Thesis advisor: James L. Cook "May 2010" Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 86-89).

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 74 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 62-73).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-125). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Meniscus damage is very common and eventually leads to the deterioration of the entire knee joint. The goal of this study was to provide evidence that supports a proof of concept for a decellularized porcine meniscal xenograft to be used as a treatment method for meniscal injury as a partial or full meniscus transplant. This research adapted an antigen removal protocol for articular cartilage to produce decellularized xenografts in 48% of the time and with no significant difference in DNA content as other current methods. DNA and GAG content, and the compression moduli were significantly lower in the xenograft than the control, but collagen content remained the same. Tensile modulus and ultimate tensile stress were significantly higher for the xenograft than the control. Crosslinking analysis was performed and 0.2% genipin was found to have a significantly higher degree of crosslinking than the rest.

Injuries to the meniscus are a common and important source of mobility issues in the knees of young active individuals, as well as elderly individuals. Conventional treatments for these injuries involve surgical resections of the damaged portions of tissue in order to relieve immediate clinical symptoms. However, with a decreased amount of meniscal tissue remaining, the load-bearing and load-distribution capacities remain compromised and inevitably lead to the development of osteoarthritis.1 In view of these deficiencies, tissue engineering has emerged as a promising alternative approach to meniscus repair. In this approach, biodegradable synthetic materials have been proposed as scaffolds to stimulate and support cell-mediated tissue remodeling. A wide range of synthetic materials have been developed to respond to the physical and chemical requirements of a scaffold, but many lack the necessary biological properties to respond to cellular stimuli. In addition, many of these materials are deficient in mechanical strength. The aim of this study was to develop a novel biomaterial that addresses these limitations. Poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC) was selected as the main component of the scaffold due its highly suitable material properties. PTMC is a biocompatible, biodegradable polymer with excellent elastomeric properties and mechanical strength. It also offers the advantage of providing long-term mechanical support due to its low degradation rate. However, PTMC alone cannot stimulate tissue regeneration due to its bio-inert nature. In order to provide an ideal environment to support tissue repair, it must possess bioactive signals. PTMC was combined with a collagenase-sensitive peptide substrate to render the scaffold invasive by cells. The peptide also served to increase the slow degradation rate of PTMC by providing cleavage points throughout the network. The compressive strength of this material was significantly higher than previously used scaffold materials. Additionally, the material possessed enhanced toughness and elasticity, high equilibrium water content, and a tunable degradation profile. Unlike currently used scaffolding materials, this material satisfies all of the necessary requirements to function as an effective scaffold for meniscus regeneration. / Thesis (Master, Chemical Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2013-11-20 15:36:06.12