The effects of displacement rate and proteoglycan digestion on the fracture resistance of tissue grown from chondrocyte culture.

Fracture toughness of cartilage and cartilage replacement tissues is important in injury and disease. For example, cartilage is thought to weaken before it fibrillates in the disease osteoarthritis. Since both loading rate and proteoglycan content affect viscoelastic properties, they may both affect fracture toughness of cartilage and cartilage analogs.