Wassif Kabir1,2, Claudia Di Bella2,3,4, Peter F M Choong2,3,4, Cathal D O'Connell2,5. 1. Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia. 2. BioFab3D, Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery, St. Vincent's Hospital, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia. 3. Department of Orthopaedics, St. Vincent's Hospital, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia. 4. Department of Surgery, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia. 5. Discipline of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Recapitulating the mechanical properties of articular cartilage (AC) is vital to facilitate the clinical translation of cartilage tissue engineering. Prior to evaluation of tissue-engineered constructs, it is fundamental to investigate the biomechanical properties of native AC under sudden, prolonged, and cyclic loads in a practical manner. However, previous studies have typically reported only the response of native AC to one or other of these loading regimes. We therefore developed a streamlined testing protocol to characterize the elastic and viscoelastic properties of human knee AC, generating values for several important parameters from the same sample. DESIGN: Human AC was harvested from macroscopically normal regions of distal femoral condyles of patients (n = 3) undergoing total knee arthroplasty. Indentation and unconfined compression tests were conducted under physiological conditions (temperature 37 °C and pH 7.4) and testing parameters (strain rates and loading frequency) to assess elastic and viscoelastic parameters. RESULTS: The biomechanical properties obtained were as follows: Poisson ratio (0.4 ± 0.1), instantaneous modulus (52.14 ± 9.47 MPa) at a loading rate of 1 mm/s, Young's modulus (1.03 ± 0.48 MPa), equilibrium modulus (7.48 ± 4.42 MPa), compressive modulus (10.60 ± 3.62 MPa), dynamic modulus (7.71 ± 4.62 MPa) at 1 Hz and loss factor (0.11 ± 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The measurements fell within the range of reported values for human knee AC biomechanics. To the authors' knowledge this study is the first to report such a range of biomechanical properties for human distal femoral AC. This protocol may facilitate the assessment of tissue-engineered composites for their functionality and biomechanical similarity to native AC prior to clinical trials.
OBJECTIVES: Recapitulating the mechanical properties of articular cartilage (AC) is vital to facilitate the clinical translation of cartilage tissue engineering. Prior to evaluation of tissue-engineered constructs, it is fundamental to investigate the biomechanical properties of native AC under sudden, prolonged, and cyclic loads in a practical manner. However, previous studies have typically reported only the response of native AC to one or other of these loading regimes. We therefore developed a streamlined testing protocol to characterize the elastic and viscoelastic properties of human knee AC, generating values for several important parameters from the same sample. DESIGN: Human AC was harvested from macroscopically normal regions of distal femoral condyles of patients (n = 3) undergoing total knee arthroplasty. Indentation and unconfined compression tests were conducted under physiological conditions (temperature 37 °C and pH 7.4) and testing parameters (strain rates and loading frequency) to assess elastic and viscoelastic parameters. RESULTS: The biomechanical properties obtained were as follows: Poisson ratio (0.4 ± 0.1), instantaneous modulus (52.14 ± 9.47 MPa) at a loading rate of 1 mm/s, Young's modulus (1.03 ± 0.48 MPa), equilibrium modulus (7.48 ± 4.42 MPa), compressive modulus (10.60 ± 3.62 MPa), dynamic modulus (7.71 ± 4.62 MPa) at 1 Hz and loss factor (0.11 ± 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The measurements fell within the range of reported values for human knee AC biomechanics. To the authors' knowledge this study is the first to report such a range of biomechanical properties for human distal femoral AC. This protocol may facilitate the assessment of tissue-engineered composites for their functionality and biomechanical similarity to native AC prior to clinical trials.
Authors: Alessandro R Zorzi; Eliane M I Amstalden; Ana Maria G Plepis; Virginia C A Martins; Mario Ferretti; Eliane Antonioli; Adriana S S Duarte; Angela C M Luzo; João B Miranda Journal: Int J Mol Sci Date: 2015-11-09 Impact factor: 5.923
Authors: Stephanie E Doyle; Finn Snow; Serena Duchi; Cathal D O'Connell; Carmine Onofrillo; Claudia Di Bella; Elena Pirogova Journal: Int J Mol Sci Date: 2021-11-17 Impact factor: 5.923
Authors: Mohammadhossein Ebrahimi; Mikko A J Finnilä; Aleksandra Turkiewicz; Martin Englund; Simo Saarakkala; Rami K Korhonen; Petri Tanska Journal: Ann Biomed Eng Date: 2021-08-02 Impact factor: 3.934