Visualization of Lubrication Film in Model of Synovial Joint

Čípek, Pavel; Rebenda, David; Nečas, David; Vrbka, Martin; Křupka, Ivan; Hartl, Martin

doi:10.24874/ti.2019.41.03.08

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Thus, glass is considered to be a suitable counterpart material. Further motivation for using glass is related to the possibility of visualization of lubricant film formation [43] using optical fluorescent microscopy [40] in future. The results will be confronted in the upcoming study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Synovial Fluid Composition, Speed and Load on Frictional Behaviour of Articular Cartilage

et al. 2020

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Articular cartilage ensures smooth motion of natural synovial joints operating at very low friction. However, the number of patients suffering from joint diseases, usually associated with cartilage degradation, continuously increases. Therefore, an understanding of cartilage tribological behaviour is of great interest in order to minimize its degradation, preserving the reliable function of the joints. The aim of the present study is to provide a comprehensive comparison of frictional behaviour of articular cartilage, focusing on the effect of synovial fluid composition (i), speed (ii), and load (iii). The experiments were realized using a pin-on-plate tribometer with reciprocating motion. The articular cartilage pin was loaded against smooth glass plate while the tests consisted of loading and unloading phases in order to enable cartilage rehydration. Various model fluids containing albumin, γ-globulin, hyaluronic acid, and phospholipids were prepared in two different concentrations simulating physiologic and osteoarthritic synovial fluid. Two different speeds, 5 mm/s and 10 mm/s were applied, and the tests were carried out under 5 N and 10 N. It was found that protein-based solutions exhibit almost no difference in friction coefficient, independently of the concentration of the constituents. However, the behaviour is considerably changed when adding hyaluronic acid and phospholipids. Especially when interacting with γ-globulin, friction coefficient decreased substantially. In general, an important role of the interaction of fluid constituents was observed. On the other hand, a limited effect of speed was detected for most of the model fluids. Finally, it was shown that elevated load leads to lower friction, which corresponds well with previous observations. Further study should concentrate on specific explored phenomena focusing on the detailed statistical evaluation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Synovial Fluid Composition, Speed and Load on Frictional Behaviour of Articular Cartilage

et al. 2020

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“…It allows the study of the behavior of the individual components of complex lubricants and is already used for lubrication analysis of joint replacements in the author's laboratory [49,69]. The pin-on-plate tribometer for the in-situ observation of cartilage-on-glass contact by fluorescent microscopy is currently under development [70].…”

Section: Cartilage Friction Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Dependence of Rheology of Hyaluronic Acid Solutions and Frictional Behavior of Articular Cartilage

et al. 2020

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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.

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“…A strictly-defined procedure of the preparation of each experiment was defined for adherence to the repeatability of the results as described in the previous study [61]. All experiments were carried out under the same experimental conditions; see Table 2.…”

Section: Methodology and Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The design created was inspired by the concept in [60], where a similar design was used. A detailed description was published in the previous studies [61,62]. The use of the reciprocating tribometer simulates the compliant contact between the cartilage sample and the glass plate to create a simplified model of the synovial joint.…”

Section: Experimental Devicementioning

confidence: 99%

Biotribology of Synovial Cartilage: A New Method for Visualization of Lubricating Film and Simultaneous Measurement of the Friction Coefficient

et al. 2020

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A healthy natural synovial joint is very important for painless active movement of the natural musculoskeletal system. The right functioning of natural synovial joints ensures well lubricated contact surfaces with a very low friction coefficient and wear of cartilage tissue. The present paper deals with a new method for visualization of lubricating film with simultaneous measurements of the friction coefficient. This can contribute to better understanding of lubricating film formation in a natural synovial joint. A newly developed device, a reciprocating tribometer, is used to allow for simultaneous measurement of friction forces with contact visualization by fluorescence microscopy. The software allowing for snaps processing and subsequent evaluation of fluorescence records is developed. The evaluation software and the follow-up evaluation procedure are also described. The experiments with cartilage samples and model synovial fluid are carried out, and the new software is applied to provide their evaluation. The primary results explaining a connection between lubrication and friction are presented. The results show a more significant impact of albumin proteins on the lubrication process, whereas its clusters create a more stable lubrication layer. A decreasing trend of protein cluster count, which corresponds to a decrease in the thickness of the lubrication film, is found in all experiments. The results highlight a deeper connection between the cartilage friction and the lubrication film formation, which allows for better understanding of the cartilage lubrication mechanism.

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Visualization of Lubrication Film in Model of Synovial Joint

Cited by 11 publications

References 17 publications

The Effect of Synovial Fluid Composition, Speed and Load on Frictional Behaviour of Articular Cartilage

The Effect of Synovial Fluid Composition, Speed and Load on Frictional Behaviour of Articular Cartilage

On the Dependence of Rheology of Hyaluronic Acid Solutions and Frictional Behavior of Articular Cartilage

Biotribology of Synovial Cartilage: A New Method for Visualization of Lubricating Film and Simultaneous Measurement of the Friction Coefficient

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