Factors influencing articular cartilage wear in vitro.

The in vitro wear of articular cartilage in oscillating and impulsively loaded bovine metatarsophalangeal joints was studied. Articular cartilage scarification had little effect on cartilage wear, but stiffening of the subchondral bone with methyl methacrylate greatly increased the rate of cartilage loss, whether or not it had previously been scarified. Glutaraldehyde treatment of articular cartilage for 30 minutes decreased is wear rate. Guanidinium chloride extraction of the cartilage before wear testing caused it to peel off its subchondral bed. This effect could be spared by prior glutaraldehyde fixation.