0000000000741129
AUTHOR
Juha Töyräs
Importance of Patella, Quadriceps Forces, and Depthwise Cartilage Structure on Knee Joint Motion and Cartilage Response During Gait
In finite-element (FE) models of the knee joint, patella is often omitted. We investigated the importance of patella and quadriceps forces on the knee joint motion by creating an FE model of the subject's knee. In addition, depthwise strains and stresses in patellar cartilage with different tissue properties were determined. An FE model was created from subject's magnetic resonance images. Knee rotations, moments, and translational forces during gait were recorded in a motion laboratory and used as an input for the model. Three material models were implemented into the patellar cartilage: (1) homogeneous model, (2) inhomogeneous (arcadelike fibrils), and (3) random fibrils at the superficia…
Computed tomography detects changes in contrast agent diffusion after collagen cross-linking typical to natural aging of articular cartilage
SummaryObjectiveThe effect of threose-induced collagen cross-linking on the mechanical and diffusive properties of cartilage was investigated in vitro. In particular, we investigated the potential of Contrast Enhanced Computed Tomography (CECT) to detect changes in articular cartilage after increased collagen cross-linking, which is an age-related phenomenon.MethodsOsteochondral plugs (Ø=6.0mm, n=28) were prepared from intact bovine patellae (n=7). Two of the four adjacent samples, prepared from each patella, were treated with threose to increase the collagen cross-linking, while the other two specimen served as paired controls. One sample pair was mechanically tested and then mechanically …
Nondestructive fluorescence-based quantification of threose-induced collagen cross-linking in bovine articular cartilage.
Extensive collagen cross-linking affects the mechanical competence of articular cartilage: it can make the cartilage stiffer and more brittle. The concentrations of the best known cross-links, pyridinoline and pentosidine, can be accurately determined by destructive high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We explore a nondestructive evaluation of cross-linking by using the intrinsic fluorescence of the intact cartilage. Articular cartilage samples from bovine knee joints were incubated in threose solution for 40 and 100 h to increase the collagen cross-linking. Control samples without threose were also prepared. Excitation-emission matrices at wavelengths of 220 to 950 nm were acquir…
Diffusion of ionic and non-ionic contrast agents in articular cartilage with increased cross-linking--contribution of steric and electrostatic effects.
Abstract Objective To investigate the effect of threose-induced collagen cross-linking on diffusion of ionic and non-ionic contrast agents in articular cartilage. Design Osteochondral plugs (O=6mm) were prepared from bovine patellae and divided into two groups according to the contrast agent to be used in contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT) imaging: (I) anionic ioxaglate and (II) non-ionic iodixanol. The groups I and II contained 7 and 6 sample pairs, respectively. One of the paired samples served as a reference while the other was treated with threose to induce collagen cross-linking. The equilibrium partitioning of the contrast agents was imaged after 24h of immersion. Fixed char…
Infrared microspectroscopic determination of collagen cross-links in articular cartilage
Collagen forms an organized network in articular cartilage to give tensile stiffness to the tissue. Due to its long half-life, collagen is susceptible to cross-links caused by advanced glycation end-products. The current standard method for determination of cross-link concentrations in tissues is the destructive high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The aim of this study was to analyze the cross-link concentrations nondestructively from standard unstained histological articular cartilage sections by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy. Half of the bovine articular cartilage samples ( n = 27 ) were treated with threose to increase the collagen cross-linking whi…