Biomechanical Responses of Normal and Delipidized Articular Cartilage Subjected to Varying Rates of Loading
(2004) Biomechanical Responses of Normal and Delipidized Articular Cartilage Subjected to Varying Rates of Loading . Connective Tissue Research 45(2):pp. 86-93.
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Abstract
In alignment with the proposition that a lipid layer overlays the superficial zone of the articular cartilage, this study presents the consequence of the removal of lipids on the load-bearing characteristics of the tissue. Both normal unmodified and delipidized cartilage matrices were loaded at four different strain-rates of 1.3×10 -4 /s, 1.3×10 -3 /s, 1.3×10 -2 /s, and 1.3×10 -1 /s to strains of no more than 40%, to compare their stress-strain and stiffness-strain-rate characteristics. Our results demonstrate that at the lowest strain-rate of 1.3×10 -4 /s, the stiffness of the delipidized matrix was lower in comparison to that of the normal unmodified tissue. This response was reversed at higher strain-rates of 1.3×10 -2 /s and above. We conclude, therefore, that in general, at physiological rates of loading, the depletion of lipids from the articular cartilage reduces its compliance by at least 25%. We infer from the present study that this degenerative stiffening is an important contributing factor in impairing the tissue's load processing function in osteoarthritic joints.
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| RM Number: | 2005000960 |
| Status: | Published |
| Subjects: | Subjects UNSPECIFIED |
| ID Code: | 10502 |
| Deposited By: | Steele, Gregory John |
| Deposited On: | 30 October 2007 |
| Alternative Locations: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03008200490442653 |
| Copyright Owner: | Copyright 2004 Taylor and Francis |
| Copyright Statement: | First published in Connective Tissue Research, Volume 45, Number 2, March-April 2004 , pp. 86-93(8) |