Rheological study of hyaluronic acid derivatives.

The viscoelastic properties of four novel, low molecular weight hyaluronic acid derivatives were investigated and compared to the parent hyaluronic acid compound. Briefly, all derivatives were synthesized by first deacetylating the parent hyaluronic acid. One sample was left as such, while two others were reacytelated. The final compound, of particular interest for its anti-inflammatory properties, was butyrylated. The compounds were dissolved in phosphate buffer solution (PBS) and studied at a concentration of 5 mg/mL. Shear thinning behaviour was observed for all compounds, however, derivative samples had a lower viscosity than the parent compound at high shear rates. Viscoelastic properties were also observed to decrease as a result of the derivative preparation method. It is believed that these changes are primarily caused by a decrease in hyaluronic acid molecular weight. By increasing the concentration of the anti-inflammatory compound, it may be possible to modulate the viscoelastic properties to more closely resemble those of commercial viscosupplements. As a result, an anti-inflammatory derivative of hyaluronic acid may potentially improve upon existing viscosupplements used to treat patients who are susceptible to flare up.

Osteoarthritic synovial fluid rheology and correlations with protein concentration.

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis is a common, localized joint disease that causes pain, stiffness and reduced mobility. Osteoarthritis is particularly common in the knees. The effects of osteoarthritis on the rheology of synovial fluid in the knees are not fully understood and consequently require further study. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of protein content on synovial fluid shear rheology. A secondary study outcome will include study of the temperature dependence of synovial fluid behaviour. METHODS: 38 osteoarthritic synovial fluid samples were studied under shear flow. Shear properties were correlated with protein concentration. Viscosupplement was used as a comparison and to verify measurement reliability. The effects of temperature were investigated at 20, 29 and 37°C. RESULTS: Shear rheological properties were found to vary widely between samples, however all samples demonstrated clear non-Newtonian shear thinning behaviour. In general viscoelastic properties were lower in osteoarthritic samples than previously studied healthy synovial fluid. A moderate correlation was observed between synovial fluid dynamic moduli at a frequency of 2.5 Hz and protein concentration. Temperature was found to affect the rheology of osteoarthritic synovial fluid and was fitted with the Arrhenius model. CONCLUSIONS: Increased protein concentration has been correlated with decreased shear rheological parameters. Temperature dependence of synovial fluid was also demonstrated and modelled for use in Part 2 of this article.

Osteoarthritic synovial fluid and correlations with protein concentration.

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis is a common, localized joint disease that causes pain, stiffness and reduced mobility. The effects of osteoarthritis on the extensional rheology of synovial fluid in the knees are not fully understood and consequently require further study. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this work is to study the extensional rheology of osteoarthritic synovial fluid and to investigate a possible correlation between synovial fluid protein concentration and extensional rheology. The study will also investigate possible correlations with the shear rheology. METHODS: 21 osteoarthritic synovial fluid samples were studied under extensional flow with a capillary breakup extensional rheometer. Extensional rheological properties were correlated with protein concentration and with shear rheological properties measured in a prior study. Viscosupplement was also studied under extensional flow for comparison. RESULTS: Extensional rheological properties were found to vary widely between samples, but in general were found to agree with previous studies. No statistically significant correlation was identified between extensional rheological properties and protein concentration. Positive correlations were identified between zero shear viscosity and terminal extensional viscosity (R-squared = 0.73), zero shear viscosity and extensional relaxation time (R-squared = 0.84), and shear relaxation time and extensional relaxation time (R-squared = 0.75). CONCLUSIONS: Appropriate CaBER operating parameters for study of osteoarthritic synovial fluid were identified. No statistically significant correlation was found to exist between protein concentration and extensional rheological parameters. Positive correlations were identified between several shear and extensional rheological parameters. The reported values for extensional viscosity and relaxation times for synovial fluid were found to be within one order of magnitude with a recent study of post mortem synovial fluid.