Hyaluronic acid (HA) injections represent one of the most common methods for the treatment of osteoarthritis. However, the clinical results of this method are unambiguous mainly because the mechanism of action has not been clearly clarified yet. Viscosupplementation consists, inter alia, of the improvement of synovial fluid rheological properties by injected solution. The present paper deals with the effect of HA molecular weight on the rheological properties of its solutions and also on friction in the articular cartilage model. Viscosity and viscoelastic properties of HA solutions were analyzed with a rotational rheometer in a cone–plate and plate–plate configuration. In total, four HA solutions with molecular weights between 77 kDa and 2010 kDa were tested. The frictional measurements were realized on a commercial tribometer Bruker UMT TriboLab, while the coefficient of friction (CoF) dependency on time was measured. The contact couple consisted of the articular cartilage pin and the plate made from optical glass. The contact was fully flooded with tested HA solutions. Results showed a strong dependency between HA molecular weight and its rheological properties. However, no clear dependence between HA molecular weight and CoF was revealed from the frictional measurements. This study presents new insight into the dependence between rheological and frictional behavior of the articular cartilage, while such an extensive investigation has not been presented before.
Osteoarthritisis a highly prevalent musculoskeletal disorder characterized by degradation of cartilage and synovial fluid (SF). Platelet derivatives as platelet‐rich plasma (PRP) and platelet lysate have great potential in the treatment of osteoarthritis because they contain biologically active substances including growth factors (GFs). Rapid release of GFs and their short biological half‐life are factors that can limit the therapeutic impact of PRP therapy. Herein, the first work that describes hydrogels based on polyaldehyde derivative of hyaluronic acid (HA‐OX) as carriers of platelet derivatives for in situ applications is presented, which can be a possible solution to the problem. HA‐OX hydrogels containing 50% (w/w) of PRP or platelet lysate can be injected using a syringe due to low viscosity(<10 Pa s) and injection force (<20 N), and reach elastic modulus up to 2000 Pa. Insulin‐like GF‐1 and Platelet‐derived GF‐AB release from HA‐OX hydrogels (mesh size 297–406 nm) by Fickian and non‐Fickian diffusion respectively. The released PRP GFs maintain their ability to induce cell proliferation (87%–92%). Based on the obtained results, the unique concept of a new material that can restore viscoelastic properties of SF and at the same time gradually deliver GFs from platelet derivatives is designed.
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