Acoustic monitoring of changes in well-defined hyaluronan layers exposed to chondrocytes.

The interaction of human-derived chondrocytes and thin hyaluronan layers was studied using the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) technique combined with light microscopy. This approach allowed unique real-time monitoring of the interface between the cells and the sensor surface. Our results suggest that the hyaluronan layer is rapidly degraded by chondrocytes.