Effect of poly DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid mesh on a three-dimensional culture of chondrocytes.

Collagen gel and a copolymer mesh of polylactate and polyglucuronic acid (PLGA) were combined for a three-dimensional (3D) culture of chondrocyte cells having both uniform cell distribution and mechanical strength. Although the 3D culture in 96-multi-wells caused decreases in the glucose consumption rate and cell density in the latter stages of cultivation, transfer of the culture gel from a 96-multi-well plate to a 24-multi-well plate and an increase in medium volume effectively increased the glucose consumption rate and the accumulation of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) in the gel. The reason for the decrease in glucose consumption rate in a 96-multi-well plate was not the depletion of glucose or the accumulation of lactate in the gel, but the accumulation of degradation products of PLGA.