Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Biotribology

Osteoarthritis (OA) involves deterioration of cartilage, including enzymatic degradation and mechanical damage, resulting in disruption of cartilage lubrication, which in turn gives rise to the progressive deterioration in the structure and function of the cartilage tissue. In order to discover new lubrication strategies or OA treatment, in vitro test methodologies are necessary, which are inexpensive and have lower approval hurdles at universities and companies worldwide as compared to in vivo tests. Based on this, we propose cartilage models to mimic the enzymatic degradation and mechanical damage (cartilage crack initiation) and report their tribological behavior. Restoring and enhancing cartilage lubrication is crucial for resisting OA deterioration. In this thesis we also propose a series of strategies to enhance cartilage lubrication, including modified hyaluronic acid, coating a biomaterial with macromolecular components which have similar functions to native lubricating molecules found in lamina splendens; and recruitment of lubricous macromolecules from synovia fluid onto damaged cartilage surface.