목적: Tissue engineering of autologous cartilage offers a potential alternative. Large quantities of autologous neo-cartilage have been generated from a small fragment of nasal septal cartilage using alginate-recovered chondrocyte (ARC) method, but these tissue-engineered nasal septal constructs do not possess the biomechanical and biological properties of native tissue yet. Furthermore, the elastin content and innate curvilinear shape of auricular cartilage render the septal cartilage inferior for the auricular reconstruction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of autologous human auricular cartilage as a donor for the reconstruction of auricular defect using ARC method. 방법:Human auricular and nasal septal chondrocytes were isolated, and then expanded in monolayer culture. At confluency, a re-differentiation to the chondrocytic phenotype with production of functional cartilaginous extracellular matrix (ECM) was induced by ARC method. Next, the re-differentiated cells and ECM were incubated to form neo- cartilage. The constructs were terminated for assessment of their morphological, histochemical, biochemical, and biomechanical properties and compared. 결과:Using the Real-Time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the expression of the aggrecan and collagen I was not significantly different between the constructs from auricular and septal chondrocytes. However, the composition of collagen II and elastin was much higher in the auricular cartilage constructs. The tensile and bending properties were higher in the auricular cartilage constructs. 결론:The neo-cartilage construct from human auricular cartilage tissue showed higher composition of collagen II and elastin, representing the highly tensile and elastic properties of auricular cartilage. Auricular chondrocytes may be superior to be used as a donor for the tissue-engineered auricular reconstruction.