Injury to articular cartilage predisposes that joint to further degeneration and eventually osteoarthritis. Recent studies have demonstrated the feasibility of using chondrocytes together with different biomaterial carriers as grafts for the repair of cartilage defects. The following study was undertaken to determine the effect of a variety of these materials on chondrocyte growth and extracellular matrix synthesis. We cultured chondrocytes on several commonly used materials and compared their rates of synthesis of proteoglycan and collagen. Additionally, we evaluated them in a closed culture recirculating system on these materials and compared them with standard culture techniques. This was done to see whether such a bioreactor-type system can be used to enhance the quality of in vitro reconstructed tissues. Our results demonstrated marked variability with respect to how chondrocytes responded to culture on the various materials. Bioabsorbable polymers such as polyglycolic acid (PGA)--enhanced proteoglycan synthesis, whereas collagen matrices stimulated synthesis of collagen. The use of the closed culture system, in general, improved the rates of synthesis of collagen and proteoglycan on the different material scaffolds. Exceptions were collagen synthesis on collagen matrices: use of the closed culture system did not enhance the rate of synthesis. Rates of proteoglycan synthesis on PGA scaffold initially was higher in the closed culture system but did not sustain a difference over the entire course of the 3-week culture period. This study demonstrates the importance of carrier material for the purpose of cartilage tissue reconstruction in vitro.