METHOD FOR MAKING CARTILAGE AND IMPLANTS

摘要

Cartilage tissue and implants comprising cartilage tissue are produced in vitro starting from cells having the ability to form an extracellular cartilage matrix. Such cells are brought into a cell space (1) and are left in this cell space for producing an extracellular cartilage matrix. The cells are brought into the cell space to have a cell density of ca. 5x107 to 109 cells per cm3 of cell space. The cell space (1) is at least partly separated from a culture medium space (2) surrounding the cell space by a semi-permeable wall (3) or by an open-pore wall acting as convection barrier. The open-pore wall can be designed as a plate (7) made of a bone substitute material and constituting the bottom of the cell space (1). The cells settle on such a plate (7) and the cartilage tissue growing in the cell space (1) grows into pores or surface roughness of the plate, whereby an implant forms which consists of a bone substitute plate (7) and a cartilage layer covering the plate and whereby the two implant parts are connected to each other in positively engaged manner by being grown together.