Dynamic compressive behavior of human meniscus correlates with its extra-cellular matrix composition.

The menisci of the knee play a significant role in the complex biomechanics of the joint and are critically important in maintaining articular cartilage health. While a general form-function relationship has been identified for the structural orientation of the extra-cellular matrix of the meniscus, the role of individual biochemical components has yet to be fully explored. To determine if correlations exist between the dynamic and static compressive modulus of human menisci and their major extra-cellular matrix constituents (collagen, glycosoaminoglycan and water content), 12 lateral and 11 medial menisci from 13 adult donors were examined.

Influence of donor age on the biomechanical and biochemical properties of human meniscal allografts.

Background: Although the use of meniscal allografts to replace severely damaged or absent menisci is commonplace, little is known about the effects of donor age on the biochemical and biomechanical properties of human menisci.

Hypothesis: The mechanical and biochemical properties of human medial and lateral menisci from donors less than 45 years of age do not vary with donor age.

Study Design: Controlled laboratory study.

Incorporation and immunogenicity of cleaned bovine bone in a sheep model.

This study was conducted to determine if a novel cleaning process could extract antigenic material from bovine bone thereby improving incorporation. Cleaned bovine xenograft, untreated bovine xenograft and sheep allograft were implanted into the tibia of mature sheep for 12 and 24 weeks. Inflammation, bone integration and immunological reactions were evaluated via standardized assays.

Demineralized bone matrix as an osteoinductive biomaterial and in vitro predictors of its biological potential.

The osteoinductivity of demineralized bone matrix (DBM) varies from donor to donor as a result of varying levels of multiple growth factors, matrix integrity, and artifacts from material processing. Many in vitro assays are currently used for screening the osteoinductivity of DBM. The objectives of this study were to determine the correlation of specific growth factors and in vitro mitotic stimulation to in vivo ectopic bone formation capacity with a large number of DBM samples.

Out-of-equilibrium dynamics in the cytoskeleton of the living cell.

We report here measurements of rheological properties of the human airway smooth muscle cell using forced nanoscale motions of Arg-Gly-Asp RGD-coated microbeads tightly bound to the cytoskeleton. With changes of forcing amplitude, the storage modulus showed small but systematic nonlinearities, especially after treatment with a contractile agonist. In a dose-dependent manner, a large oscillatory shear applied from a few seconds up to 400 s caused the cytoskeleton matrix to soften, a behavior comparable to physical rejuvenation observed in certain inert soft materials; the stiffness remained constant for as long as the large oscillatory shear was maintained, but suddenly fell with shear cessation.