Abstract
The purpose of this study is to evaluate correlation between extracellular matrix and mechanical properties of articular cartilage. Collagenase and hyaluronidase were used to degrade colloagen fibril and proteoglycan respectively. Indentation test, dynamic visco-elasticity measurement and tensile test were carried out to evaluate mechanical properties before and after the enzyme treatment. Acoording to indentation test, maximum strain was increased and recovery ratio (=recovery strain/maximum strain) was decreased with treatment time for both enzyme treatments. There were no significant differences in tensile strength before and after the hyaluronidase treatment, where as the strength was decreased by the collgenase treatment. Result of dynamic visco-elasticity measurement showed that peak value and peak frequency of tan δ were shifted to a higher value with treatment time after the hyaluronidase treatment. These results suggest that compressive modulus and visco-elastic properties are much affected by collagen-proteoglycan network and tensile strength is affected mainly by collagen fibers.
