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Squeeze-film properties of synovial fluid and hyaluronate-based viscosupplements

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Abstract

The rheological properties of synovial fluid and hyaluronate (HA) solutions have been studied using a variety of viscometers and rheometers. These devices measure the viscosity of the fluid’s resistance to shearing forces, which is useful when studying the lubrication and frictional properties of movable joints. Less commonly used is a squeeze-film fluid test, mechanistically similar to when two joint surfaces squeeze interposed fluid. In our study, we used squeeze-film tests to determine the rheological response of normal bovine synovial fluid and 10 mg/ml HA-based solutions, Hyalgan/Hyalovet, commercially available 500–700 kDa HA viscosupplements, and a 1000 kDa sodium hyaluronate (NaHy) solution. We found similar rheological responses (fluid thickness, viscosity, viscosity–pressure relationship) for all three fluids, though synovial fluid’s minimum squeeze-film thickness was slightly thicker. Squeeze-film loading speed did not affect these results. Different HA concentrations and molecular weights also did not have a significant or consistent effect on the squeeze-film responses. An unexpected result for the HA-solutions was a linear increase in minimum fluid-film thickness with increasing initial fluid-film thickness. This result was attributed to faster gelling of thicker HA-solutions, which formed at a lower squeeze-film strain and higher squeeze-film strain rate compared to thinner layers. Also included is a review of the literature on viscosity measurements of synovial fluid and HA solutions.

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Acknowledgements

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number AR059203 (PAT). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Funding

Grant Number AR059203 (PAT) from the National Institutes of Health—National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Skin Diseases.

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Author notes

  1. Peter A. Torzilli, Robert B. Hubbard and Isabella L. Pecorari have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Division, Orthopaedic Soft Tissue Research Program Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 East 70th Street, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    Peter A. Torzilli

  2. NeuroImaging Laboratory, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Robert B. Hubbard

  3. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    Isabella L. Pecorari

Authors
  1. Peter A. Torzilli
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  2. Robert B. Hubbard
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  3. Isabella L. Pecorari
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Contributions

Experimental design, data analysis, mathematical modeling and manuscript preparation were performed by P.A. Torzilli. Experimental testing was performed by R. Hubbard. Data collection and reduction were performed by I. Pecorari. All authors have given approval to the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Peter A. Torzilli.

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Torzilli, P.A., Hubbard, R.B. & Pecorari, I.L. Squeeze-film properties of synovial fluid and hyaluronate-based viscosupplements. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 20, 1919–1940 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-021-01485-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-021-01485-x

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