Achieving lateral integration of articular cartilage repair tissue with surrounding native cartilage remains a clinical challenge. Histological and bulk mechanical studies have identified extracellular matrix components that correlate with superior failure strength, but it is unclear how local changes in geometry and composition at the repair interface affect tissue strains under physiologic loading. Here, we investigated the effects of local compositional and interface geometry on lateral cartilage repair integration by coupling microscale Raman spectroscopy and confocal elastography to measure tissue strains under compressive and shear loading. Histological integration assessments did not have significant relationships with interface strains under compressive loading (p > 0.083) and only the perimeter attachment score was trending towards statistical significance with the |E_xy| strain tensor under shear loading (p = 0.050). Interface slope had a stronger correlation with local tissue strains under compressive and shear loading compared to compositional measures of GAG, collagen, or proteins (compressive loading |E_yy| tensor: R² = 0.400 (interface slope), 0.005 (GAG), 0.024 (collagen), and 0.012 (protein); shear loading |E_xy| tensor: R² = 0.457 (interface slope), 0.003 (GAG), 0.006 (collagen), and 0.000 (total protein)). These data support surgical publications detailing the need for vertical walls when debriding chondral defects. Current histological integration assessments and local compositional measures were insufficient for identifying the variation in interface strains under compressive and shear loading. Thus, our data points to the importance of controlling interface geometry at the time of surgery, which has implications for cartilage repair integration and long-term healing.

实现关节软骨修复组织与周围天然软骨的横向整合仍然是一项临床挑战。组织学和整体力学研究已经确定了与优异的失效强度相关的细胞外基质成分，但尚不清楚修复界面处几何形状和成分的局部变化如何影响生理负荷下的组织应变。在这里，我们通过耦合微尺度拉曼光谱和共焦弹性成像来测量压缩和剪切载荷下的组织应变，研究了局部组成和界面几何形状对侧向软骨修复整合的影响。组织学整合评估与压缩载荷下的界面应变没有显着关系（p > 0。_xy | 剪切载荷下的应变张量 (p = 0.050)。与 GAG、胶原蛋白或蛋白质的成分测量相比，界面斜率与压缩和剪切载荷下的局部组织应变具有更强的相关性（压缩载荷 |E _yy | 张量：R ²  = 0.400（界面斜率）、0.005（GAG）、0.024） （胶原蛋白）和 0.012（蛋白质）；剪切载荷 |E _xy | 张量：R ² = 0.457（界面斜率）、0.003（GAG）、0.006（胶原蛋白）和 0.000（总蛋白质）。这些数据支持外科出版物详细说明清创软骨缺损时需要垂直壁。当前的组织学整合评估和局部成分测量不足以识别压缩和剪切载荷下界面应变的变化。因此，我们的数据指出了在手术时控制界面几何形状的重要性，这对软骨修复整合和长期愈合有影响。