A novel silk-TCP-PEEK construct for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: an off-the shelf alternative to a bone-tendon-bone autograft.

Bone-tendon-bone autograft represents a gold-standard for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction but at the cost of a secondary surgical site that can be accompanied by functional impairment and discomfort. Although numerous in vitro and in vivo studies have investigated tissue engineering alternatives to autografting, the achievement of a functional histological transition between soft and hard tissue has remained elusive. To bridge this gap we developed and tested a novel multiphase scaffold of silk, tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and polyether ether ketone for ACL reconstruction.