Functionally Designed Liquid Crystal Elastomer Foams for Cartilage Regeneration

Abstract Articular cartilage is often damaged by wear out and sports injuries, which leads to severe joint pain and osteoarthritis. However, the exploration of facile and efficient treatment protocols for achieving cartilage regeneration still remains challenging. Here, a liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) foam is reported prepared by salt‐templating method and a subsequent freeze‐drying. The resulting LCE foams with porous structures exhibit excellent resilience, fatigue resistance and biocompatibility. Furthermore, the repair experiment of knee trochlear cartilage defects in New Zealand white rabbits verifies the efficacy of the LCE foam. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and micro‐computed tomography (Micro‐CT) results show that the cartilage defects in the LCE foam group are almost completely repaired, approaching the condition of normal cartilage. Safranin O/Fast Green and Toluidine Blue staining indicates an increased deposition of proteoglycans in the LCE foam group. Immunohistochemical staining further confirms the up‐regulated expression of COL I, COL II, and COL X. Given the favorable in vitro and in vivo regeneration outcomes, the LCE foam is anticipated to have wide applications in tissue engineering.