Seido Yarimitsu

Superior lubricity in articular cartilage and artificial hydrogel cartilage

In healthy natural synovial joints, the extremely low friction and minimum wear are maintained by their superior load-carrying capacity and lubricating ability. This superior lubricating performance appears to be actualized not by single lubrication mode but by synergistic combination of multimode mechanisms such as fluid film, biphasic, hydration, gel film and/or boundary lubrication. On the contrary, in most artificial joints composed of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene against metal or ceramic-mating material, boundary and/or mixed lubrication modes prevail and thus local direct contact brings down high friction and high-wear problems. To extend the durability of artificial joint, the reduction in friction and wear by improvement in lubrication mechanism is required as an effective design solution. In this paper, at the start, the mechanism of superior lubricity for articular cartilage is examined from the viewpoints of biphasic and boundary lubrication mechanism. Subsequently, the proposal of biomimetic artificial hydrogel cartilage is put forward to improve the lubricating modes in artificial joints. The tribological behaviours in two kinds of poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels are compared with that of natural cartilage. The importance in lubrication mechanism in artificial hydrogel cartilage is discussed.

Effectiveness of adsorbed film and gel layer in hydration lubrication as adaptive multimode lubrication mechanism for articular cartilage

With various daily activities, the effectiveness of adsorbed film formed on a gel-like layer at the uppermost superficial articular cartilage in natural synovial joints becomes important to control the friction and wear of articular cartilage in mixed or boundary lubrication regime as an adaptive multimode lubrication mechanism. Furthermore, in the case where the adsorbed film has been removed, the proteoglycan gel layer is expected to preserve low friction and protect against the wear of bulk cartilage tissue with an effective hydration lubrication mechanism. Besides, it is indicated that the biphasic lubrication plays an important role in lowering of friction in articular cartilage containing a large amount of water. At the present stage, however, the detailed relationship between adsorbed films and hydrated gel layers has not yet been elucidated. In this article, the frictional behaviours of articular cartilage on a glass plate were observed in the reciprocating tests with the restarting process after interruption and unloading. The lubricating effectiveness of adsorbed films in hyaluronate (HA) solutions was examined using intact and partially damaged cartilage specimens. The role of albumin and γ-globulin in relation to the surface conditions of gel layer is discussed. The restarting friction immediately after reloading became lower as a result of recovery of the effective interstitial fluid pressurization and hydration and adsorbed films have a significant effect on the frictional behaviour at local contacts. To clarify the molecular phenomena taking place under rubbing condition, in situ observations of the forming adsorbed film were conducted. The measurements were performed using the fluorescent staining method for protein and HA molecules at low contact pressures.

Micro- and nanoscopic biotribological behaviours in natural synovial joints and artificial joints

Abstract To maintain low friction and low wear in natural synovial joints and joint prostheses with artificial cartilage, adsorbed film formation at micro- and nanoscopic levels appears to play an important role in mixed or boundary lubrication regime where local direct contact occurs. In natural synovial joints, the lubricating gel film is likely to preserve low friction and to protect the bulk cartilage even after the removal of the adsorbed film. For poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel as artificial cartilage without lubricating gel layer, the adsorbed film is a single protective barrier. In the previous researches on the rubbing pair of PVA against itself or glass plate, the coexistence of albumin (A) and γ-globulin (G) as A:G = 1: 2 at total protein concentration of 2.1 wt% in hyaluronate solution showed the lowest wear. In this study, in situ observation of adsorption of proteins was conducted to clarify the dynamic changes in adsorptional behaviours in lubricants containing different protein constituents. In the mixed lubrication regime, the coexistence of albumin and γ-globulin as A:G = 1:2 showed the lowest friction. The role of appropriate constituents of proteins is discussed on low friction and low wear at micro- and nanoscopic levels on the basis of previous and present results.

Biphasic and boundary lubrication mechanisms in artificial hydrogel cartilage: A review

Various studies on the application of artificial hydrogel cartilage to cartilage substitutes and artificial joints have been conducted. It is expected in clinical application of artificial hydrogel cartilage that not only soft-elastohydrodynamic lubrication but biphasic, hydration, gel-film and boundary lubrication mechanisms will be effective to sustain extremely low friction and minimal wear in daily activities similar to healthy natural synovial joints with adaptive multimode lubrication. In this review article, the effectiveness of biphasic lubrication and boundary lubrication in hydrogels in thin film condition is focused in relation to the structures and properties of hydrogels. As examples, the tribological behaviors in three kinds of poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels with high water content are compared, and the importance of lubrication mechanism in biomimetic artificial hydrogel cartilage is discussed to extend the durability of cartilage substitute.

Influences of dehydration and rehydration on the lubrication properties of phospholipid polymer-grafted cross-linked polyethylene

Surface modification by grafting of biocompatible phospholipid polymer onto the surface of artificial joint material has been proposed to reduce the risk of aseptic loosening and improve the durability. Poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (PMPC)-grafted cross-linked polyethylene (CLPE) has shown promising results for reducing wear of CLPE. The main lubrication mechanism for the PMPC layer is considered to be the hydration lubrication. In this study, the lubrication properties of PMPC-grafted CLPE were evaluated in reciprocating friction test with rehydration process by unloading in various lubricants. The start-up friction of PMPC-grafted CLPE was reduced, and the damage of PMPC layer was suppressed by rehydration in water or hyaluronic acid solutions. In contrast, the start-up friction of PMPC-grafted CLPE increased in fetal bovine serum solution, and the damage for PMPC layer was quite noticeable. Interestingly, the start-up friction of PMPC-grafted CLPE was reduced in fetal bovine serum solution containing hyaluronic acid, and the damage of the PMPC layer was suppressed. These results indicate that the rehydration by unloading and hyaluronic acid are elemental in maximizing the lubrication effect of hydrated PMPC layer.

Superior lubrication mechanism in poly(vinyl alcohol) hybrid gel as artificial cartilage

With recent progress of material technologies, the wear resistance of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene for total joint prostheses has been improved, but under severe conditions friction and wear problems have not yet been completely solved. Therefore, the application of artificial hydrogel cartilage with similar properties to natural articular cartilage is expected to solve the friction and wear problems by improvement of lubrication mechanism with superior tribological functions. In this study, reciprocating tests of four kinds of poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels were carried out and the biphasic finite element analysis was conducted. As artificial cartilage specimens, four kinds of poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels were prepared using the repeated freeze–thawing (FT) method, the cast-drying (CD) method and the hybrid method with different layered structure as FT on CD or CD on FT. In reciprocating test of ellipsoidal poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel specimen against flat glass plate in saline solution, four kinds of hydrogels exhibited very different frictional levels as hybrid (CD on FT) < CD < FT < hybrid (FT on CD). It is noticed that hybrid (CD on FT) gel maintained extremely low friction and showed minimal wear. The effectiveness of biphasic lubrication was evaluated by biphasic finite element analysis. The importance of the load support by fluid phase at early stage and the surface lubricity after lowering of interstitial fluid pressure in poly(vinyl alcohol) hybrid (CD on FT) gel are discussed by comparison of experiment and finite element analysis.

The Role of Subchondral Tissues on Lubrication Properties of Natural Articular Cartilage

Excellent lubrication properties of natural synovial joints are considered to be due to the adaptive multimode lubrication mechanism, in which various lubrication mechanisms functioned synergistically and hierarchically. In those lubrication mechanisms, hydration lubrication by the proteoglycan gel layer at the superficial zone of articular cartilage and the biphasic lubrication mechanism by the biphasic nature of articular cartilage are influenced by the extent of hydration and behavior of internal fluid in osteochondral tissues. In recent studies, possibilities of transport of fluid between cartilage layer and underlying tissues were indicated. Therefore, the influences of subchondral tissues on lubricating properties of natural articular cartilage were examined.