Abstract: Knee implants having a convex outer surface formed of a stack of sheets of bacterial cellulose that is between 2-10 mm thick and has been impregnated and crosslinked to form a hydrogel having a concentration of cross-linked bacterial cellulose nanofibers of between 2-20 weight % of the hydrogel, so that the hydrogel has a tensile strength of greater than 5 MPa, a tensile modulus of greater than 8 MPa, and a compression strength of greater than 14 MPa. The implant may have a metallic body and may be generally mushroom-shaped.

Abstract: Artificial cartilage materials for repair and replacement of cartilage (e.g., load-bearing, articular cartilage). The artificial cartilage materials described herein include triple-network hydrogels including a cross-linked fiber network (e.g., a bacterial cellulose nanofiber network) and a double-network hydrogel (e.g., a double-network hydrogel including polfacrylamide-methyl propyl sulfonic acid). The artificial cartilage may be coated onto or formed into an implant (e.g., plug). The artificial cartilage may include a surface macroporosity, e.g., 0.1-300 micrometers diameter. Also described herein are methods of forming and methods of using the triple-network hydrogel artificial cartilage materials.