The friction and wear properties of silica/poly(tetrahydrofuran)/poly(ε-caprolactone) (SiO₂/PTHF/PCL-diCOOH) hybrid materials that are proposed as cartilage tissue engineering materials were investigated against living articular cartilage. A testing rig was designed to allow testing against fresh bovine cartilage. The friction force and wear were compared for five compositions of the hybrid biomaterial articulating against freshly harvested bovine cartilage in diluted bovine calf serum. Under a non-migrating contact, the friction force increased and hence shear force applied to the opposing articular cartilage also increased, resulting in minor damage to the cartilage surface. This worse case testing scenario was used to discriminate between material formulations and revealed the increase in friction and damaged area was lowest for the hybrid containing the most silica. Further friction and wear tests on one hybrid formulation with an elastic modulus closest to that of cartilage were then conducted in a custom incubator system. This demonstrated that over a five day period the friction force, cell viability and glucosaminoglycan (GAG) release into the lubricant were similar between a cartilage-cartilage interface and the hybrid-cartilage interface, supporting the use of these materials for cartilage repair. These results demonstrate how tribology testing can play a part in the development of new materials for chondral tissue engineering.

Statement of significance

Designing materials that maintain the low friction and wear of articular cartilage whilst supporting the growth of new tissue is critical if further damage is to be avoided during repair of cartilage defects. This work examines the tribological performance of a SiO₂/PTHF/PCL-diCOOH hybrid material and demonstrates a testing protocol that could be applied to any proposed material for cartilage regeneration. Tribological tests demonstrated that changing the hybrid composition decreased friction and reduced damage to the cartilage counterface. This study demonstrates how tribological testing can be integrated into the design process to produce materials with a higher chance of clinical success.

中文翻译：

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新型混合动力修复关节软骨缺损的摩擦学评估

二氧化硅/聚四氢呋喃/聚ε-己内酯（SiO ₂）的摩擦磨损性能研究了作为软骨组织工程材料提出的/ PTHF / PCL-diCOOH）杂化材料对抗活关节软骨的研究。设计了一个测试台，可以对新鲜的牛软骨进行测试。比较了五种混合生物材料的摩擦力和磨损，所述五种复合材料与稀释的牛犊血清中的新鲜收获的牛软骨相对。在非迁移接触下，摩擦力增加，因此施加到相对的关节软骨上的剪切力也增加，从而导致对软骨表面的轻微损坏。使用这种最坏情况的测试方案来区分材料配方，并发现对于二氧化硅含量最高的杂化材料，摩擦的增加和受损面积的降低最低。然后在定制培养箱系统中对一种弹性模量最接近软骨的混合制剂进行进一步的摩擦和磨损测试。这表明在五天的时间内，软骨-软骨界面和混合-软骨界面之间的摩擦力，细胞活力和葡糖胺聚糖（GAG）释放到润滑剂中相似，从而支持将这些材料用于软骨修复。这些结果证明了摩擦学测试如何在软骨组织工程新材料的开发中发挥作用。软骨-软骨界面和杂交-软骨界面之间的细胞活力和葡糖胺聚糖（GAG）释放到润滑剂中相似，从而支持将这些材料用于软骨修复。这些结果证明了摩擦学测试如何在软骨组织工程新材料的开发中发挥作用。软骨-软骨界面和杂交-软骨界面之间的细胞活力和葡糖胺聚糖（GAG）释放到润滑剂中相似，从而支持将这些材料用于软骨修复。这些结果证明了摩擦学测试如何在软骨组织工程新材料的开发中发挥作用。

重要声明

如果要在修复软骨缺损的过程中避免进一步的损伤，设计维持关节软骨低摩擦和磨损并支持新组织生长的材料至关重要。这项工作检查了SiO ₂ / PTHF / PCL-diCOOH杂化材料的摩擦学性能，并证明了可以应用于任何提出的软骨再生材料的测试方案。摩擦学测试表明，改变混合成分减少了摩擦，并减少了对软骨相对面的损害。这项研究表明了如何将摩擦学测试整合到设计过程中，以生产出具有更高临床成功机会的材料。