Method for use of a double-structured tissue implant for treatment of tissue defects

1. An implant for repairing a cartilage or a tissue defect comprising:

a three-dimensional primary scaffold comprising collagen and defining a plurality of pores, wherein the primary scaffold defines a top surface and a bottom surface of the implant; and

a secondary scaffold comprising lyophilized and dehydrothermally treated collagen and a surfactant, wherein the secondary scaffold forms a fibrous and cross-linked collagen network within the plurality of pores.

2. The implant of claim 1 , wherein the secondary scaffold has been lyophilized at a temperature of about −10° C. to about −210° C. over a period of about 2 to about 60 minutes and dehydrothermally treated at a temperature of about 70° C. to about 200° C. for about 30 minutes to about 7 days.

3. The implant of claim 2 , wherein the pores are substantially uniform in size with a diameter of about 300±100 μm.

4. The implant of claim 3 , wherein the sizes and diameters of the pores on both the top surface and the bottom surface are substantially the same.

5. The implant of claim 4 , wherein the pores are vertically oriented.

6. The implant of claim 1 , wherein the secondary scaffold comprises Type I collagen.

7. The implant of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant is a derivatized polyethylene glycol.

8. The implant of claim 7 , wherein the derivatized polyethylene glycol is polyethylene glycol p-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)-phenyl ether.

9. The implant of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant is a block co-polymer of polyoxyethylene (PEO) and polyoxypropylene (PPO) having the generic organization of polymeric blocks PEG-PPO-PEG or PPO-PEG-PPO.

10. The implant of claim 9 , wherein the block co-polymer is a polymer of polyoxyethylene (PEO) and polyoxypropylene (PPO) with two 96-unit hydrophilic PEO chains surrounding one 69-unit hydrophobic PPO chain.

11. The implant of claim 1 , further comprising a morphogenetic growth factor incorporated therein.

12. The implant of claim 1 , further comprising a modulator incorporated therein.

13. The implant of claim 1 , further comprising a pharmaceutical agent, a growth factor, a growth hormone, a mediator, an enzyme promoting cell incorporation, an enzyme promoting cell proliferation, an enzyme promoting cell division, a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient, an additive, a buffer, a transforming growth factor, an insulin-like growth factor 1, a platelet-derived growth factor, a repulsive guidance molecule, or a bone morphogenetic protein (BMP).

14. The implant of claim 1 , wherein the secondary scaffold has been dehydrated by a dehydrothermal treatment comprising subjecting the secondary scaffold to a temperature between about 70° C. to about 200° C., for about 30 minutes to about 7 days, under a vacuum.

15. An implant for repairing a cartilage or a tissue defect comprising:

a three-dimensional primary scaffold comprising type I collagen and defining a plurality of pores, wherein the primary scaffold defines a top surface and a bottom surface of the implant;

a secondary scaffold comprising lyophilized and dehydrothermally treated collagen, wherein the secondary scaffold forms a fibrous and cross-linked collagen network within the plurality of pores, wherein the pores are substantially uniform in size with a diameter of about 300±100 μm, and wherein the sizes and diameters of the pores on both the top surface and the bottom surface are substantially the same; and

a cell modulator incorporated within the implant.

16. The implant of claim 15 , wherein the secondary scaffold has been lyophilized at a temperature of about −10° C. to about −210° C. over a period of about 2 to about 60 minutes and dehydrothermally treated at a temperature between about 70° C. to about 200° C., for about 30 minutes to about 7 days, under a vacuum.

17. The implant of claim 16 , wherein the cell modulator comprises a bone morphogenetic protein (BMP).