Synthesis of Collagenase-Sensitive Polyureas for Ligament Tissue Engineering

Recently, poly(ester urethanes) were investigated for use as ligament grafts due to their exceptional mechanical properties and highly tunable structure; however, these grafts are susceptible to hydrolytic degradation that occurs independent of tissue regeneration. To address this limitation, polyureas containing collagen-derived peptides were synthesized which enable cellular release of proteases to dictate degradation rate. It is hypothesized that this cell-responsive design will facilitate load transfer from the biodegradable scaffold to neotissue at a rate that promotes proper tissue orientation and function while maintaining construct integrity. Ligament scaffolds with cell-responsive biodegradation. Polyether prepolymers are functionalized with reactive end groups to enable incorporation of an enzyme labile peptide into the polyurea backbone. The addition of cell-responsive degradation to one of the most versatile classes of biomaterials makes these hybrid grafts promising candidates for tissue engineered ligament grafts.