• vascularized bone construct
• ultrasonic mixing chamber
• biphasic scaffolds
• 3D printing

Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary field that combines engineering, biology, medicine and materials sciences to develop biological surrogates aiming to restore normal functionalities of tissue or organ. The most promising approach uses scaffolds, namely three dimensional and porous structures providing a mechanical support to growing cells in order to regenerate the tissue. Osteochondral junction is a highly organized structure where articular cartilage and subchondral bone are intimately connected. The aim of this thesis is the development of an in vitro osteochondral construct using a dual chamber bioreactors. The cartilage construct is obtained by incorporating human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in a photocrosslinkable hydrogel based on gelatin-methacrylate (gelMA) and hyaluronic acid-methacrylate (MeHA). Bone phase is obtained seeding hMSCs in 3D printed gelatin-hydroxyapatite-genipin scaffolds. To recreate a more in vivo like bone construct, the formation of a capillary like network was induced in the bone scaffolds by using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), exploiting the scaffold interconnected pore network.