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. 2020 Mar 15;13(6):1334.
doi: 10.3390/ma13061334.

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

Denis Furmann  1 , David Nečas  1 , David Rebenda  1 , Pavel Čípek  1 , Martin Vrbka  1 , Ivan Křupka  1 , Martin Hartl  1
Affiliations

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

Denis Furmann et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

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.

Keywords: articular cartilage; biotribology; coefficient of friction; synovial fluid; tribological properties.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A research plan of the study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A schematic illustration of the test procedure.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Dependence of the friction coefficient on time for various protein- (a,b), HA- (c,d), (PHs)- (e,f), and HA + PHs- (g,h) based lubricants; PC (left) and OC (right). HA: hyaluronic acid; PH: phospholipids; PC: physiologic concentration; OC: osteoarthritic concentration.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The effect of concentration on the friction coefficient for various protein- (a), protein + HA- (b), PHs- (c), and HA + PHs- (d) based lubricants. (A—Albumin, γ-G—γ-Globulin).
Figure 5
Figure 5
The effect of speed on the friction coefficient for various protein- (a,b), HA- (c,d), PHs- (e,f), and HA + PHs- (g,h) based lubricants; PC (left) and OC (right).
Figure 6
Figure 6
The effect of load on the friction coefficient for various protein- (a,b), HA- (c,d), PHs- (e,f), and HA + PHs- (g,h) based lubricants; PC (left) and OC (right).
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