Emulsion Templated Porous Polymers as Scaffolds for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tissue Engineering

Rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament is one of the most common knee injuries requiring surgical intervention. Current treatments rely on the use of tendon grafts, harvested from other parts of the knee, and can result in increased pain and instability of the joint, causing osteoarthritis later in life. This thesis explores a tissue engineering approach to anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Highly porous, biodegradable polymers have been synthesised and seeded with human cells in order to assess the formation of ligament tissue in a lab environment.