cartilage tagged posts

Engineers have developed a new material that mimics human cartilage — the body’s shock absorbing and lubrication system, and it could herald the development of a new generation of lightweight bearings.

Cartilage is a soft fibrous tissue found around joints which provides protection from the compressive loading generated by walking, running or lifting. It also provides a protective, lubricating layer allowing bones to pass over one another in a frictionless way. For years, scientists have been trying to create a synthetic material with the properties of cartilage.

To date, they have had mixed results.

But in a paper published in the journal Applied Polymer Mate...

The artificial cartilage is very flexible yet resistant to tearing. Credit: Joseph Xu, Michigan Engineering

The unparalleled liquid strength of cartilage, which is about 80% water, withstands some of the toughest forces on our bodies. Synthetic materials couldn’t match it – until “Kevlartilage” was developed by researchers at the University of Michigan and Jiangnan University. “We know that we consist mostly of water – all life does – and yet our bodies have a lot of structural stability,” said Nicholas Kotov, the Joseph B. and Florence V. Cejka Professor of Engineering at U-M, who led the study. “Understanding cartilage is understanding how life forms can combine properties that are sometimes unthinkable together.”

Many people with joint injuries would benefit from a good replacement for ...

Scientists have developed a material that can mimic cartilage and potentially encourage it to re-grow.

Compared to other types of connective tissue cartilage is not easy to repair. Researchers have developed a bio-glass material that mimics the shock-absorbing and load bearing qualities of real cartilage. It can be formulated to exhibit different properties, and they are now hoping to use it to develop implants for replacing damaged cartilage discs between vertebrae. They believe it also has the potential to encourage cartilage cells to grow in knees, which has previously not been possible with conventional methods.

The bio-glass consists of silica and a plastic or polymer called polycaprolactone...