Porous Poly(vinyl alcohol)-Based Hydrogel for Knee Meniscus Functional Repair

The meniscus has a key role within the knee joint, conferring stability, absorbing and redistributing loads, and influencing the overall movement proprioception. Recent developments in the treatment of meniscal injury have progressively shifted the focus from general resection to functional repair, with the recognition that restoring the biomechanical meniscal function helps to prevent degenerative changes in the knee joint and the insurgence of osteoarthritis. To address this clinical need, we have developed a biomimetic implant based on a porous poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel. Such hydrogels are stable, biocompatible, and suitable to surgical translation, and their mechanical properties can be tuned to reduce the mismatch in the case of partial meniscectomy. The PVA implant structure is porous and permeable, allowing fluid flows and facilitating anatomical integration in situ. Here, we present a chemo-physical characterization of PVA porous hydrogels, focusing on their tunable morphology and associated viscoelastic properties. Biocompatibility was evaluated using primary bovine meniscal fibrochondrocytes, and integration with native tissues was assessed in an ex vivo model. Overall, our results suggest that a synthetic meniscal implant based on a porous PVA hydrogel could restore the physiological function of the meniscus and represent a promising clinical alternative to current resection treatments.