Evaluation of polymeric biomaterial as an option for tissue replacement in plantar calcaneonavicular ligament injuries

Spring ligament is a structure responsible for giving stability to the plantar arch of the foot. Some injuries or rupture of this ligament can have consequences such as flat feet or induce the foot to have greater ranges of motion of pronation and abduction. The solutions proposed over time have been to reconstruct the ligament through autograft or allograft surgery, however, research and results have shown that this is a temporary, partial solution, or even a new way to worsen the previous problem. In this research, new tissue engineering technologies will be used to obtain a Scaffold from synthetic and natural polymers that give the new ligament mechanical and biological properties, respectively, to obtain a tissue as close to the native one. A solution of 50% PCL- 50% type II collagen, at a concentration of 10%w/v, was prepared. The solution was electrospun under an align fibers configuration. The sample obtained was characterized in a uniaxial equipment obtaining values of: Ultimate tensile stress = 1.375MPa; Young’s modulus = 7.767MPa; Poisson’s ratio = 0.1. These mechanical properties were attached to a healthy foot model provided by [2], to evaluate the performance of the new SL properties versus the healthy model. The tissues primarily involved in plantar arch stabilizers: FP, LPL and SPL, were evaluated. Due to the elastic properties of the material, the computational model of the foot, presented high loads on the mentioned tissues, also displacements that discrepancy from the healthy ones. The electrospun scaffold does not yet meet the specifications to act as a possible graft with successful mechanical properties that would allow the spring ligament to withstand the loads without foot collapse or excessive pronation.