Near Infrared Spectroscopy as a Method for Non-Destructive Monitoring of Engineered Cartilage Growth

Abstract

Tissue engineering is complicated by the plethora of factors which may influence the growth of tissue constructs. The potential of near infrared spectroscopy for the non-destructive periodic monitoring of engineered cartilage constructs was investigated. Spectral changes attributed to increased collagen and proteoglycan and decreased polyglycolic acid content were observed and were correlated to physical parameters of developing cartilage.