A Novel Non-Destructive Method for Measuring Elastic Moduli of Cultivated Cartilage Tissues

Abstract

Accurate measurement of the mechanical properties of artificial or cultivated cartilage is a major factor for determining successive regeneration of defective soft tissues. In this study, we developed a novel method that enabled the bulk modulus (k-modulus) to be measured nondestructively using the relationship between volume and pressure of living soft tissues. In order to validate this method we estimated the bulk modulus of soft silicone rubbers using our new method and a conventional method. The results showed a 5 ~ 10% difference between the results obtained with the two methods. Our method was used subsequently to measure the mechanical properties of cultivated cartilage samples (collagen gel type), that had been incubated for four weeks in the presence or absence of human articular chondrocytes (HACs). Our experiments showed that cultivated cartilage tissues grown in the presence of HACs had a higher bulk modulus (120 ± 20 kPa) than samples grown without HACs (90 ± 15 kPa). The results indicated that our novel method offered an effective method for measurement of volume changes in minute living soft tissues, with the measurements having a high degree of accuracy and precision. Furthermore, this method has significant advantages over conventional approaches as it can be used to rapidly and accurately evaluate the strength of soft tissues during cultivation without causing damage to the specimen.