Assessment Of Allowash~reg;-treated Human Meniscal Allografts By Nude Mouse Bioassay

摘要

There is a clinical shortage of meniscal allografts for transplantation. Typically, these grafts are provided "fresh-frozen" with tissue being recovered and refrigerated until the graft is excised and frozen until use. Other than minimal tissue debridement and, perhaps, antibiotic treatment, these grafts undergo no additional disinfection. At least one example of infection-related death due to a contaminated, cryopreserved meniscus is known. The objective of our project was to clean and disinfect meniscal allografts using Allowash~® technology (1) and assess in vivo performance. Gamma irradiation was also considered as a post-Allowash treatment to further assure graft sterility. In this study, we assessed the impact of these treatments on meniscal structure, biostability, and biocompatibility.