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Intrinsic fluorescence and mechanical testing of articular cartilage in human patients with osteoarthritis
Author(s) -
PadillaMartinez Juan Pablo,
Lewis William,
OrtegaMartinez Antonio,
Franco Walfre
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of biophotonics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.877
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1864-0648
pISSN - 1864-063X
DOI - 10.1002/jbio.201600269
Subject(s) - osteoarthritis , cartilage , articular cartilage , fluorescence , stiffness , materials science , biomedical engineering , medicine , anatomy , pathology , optics , composite material , physics , alternative medicine
The degeneration of articular cartilage is the main cause of osteoarthritis (OA), a common cause of disability among elderly patients. The aim of this study is to understand the correlation between intrinsic fluorescence of articular cartilage and its biomechanical properties in patients with osteoarthritis. Cylindrical samples of articular cartilage 6 mm in diameter were extracted via biopsy punch from the femoral condyles of 6 patients with advanced OA undergoing knee replacement surgery. The mechanical stiffness and fluorescence of each cartilage plug were measured by indentation test and spectrofluorometry. Maps of fluorescence intensity, at excitation/emission wavelengths of 240–520/290‐530 nm, were used to identify wavelengths of interest. The mechanical stiffness and fluorescence intensity were correlated using a Spearman analysis. The excitation/emission maps demonstrated three fluorescence peaks at excitation/emission wavelength pairs 330/390, 350/430 and 370/460 nm. The best correlation between the fluorescence intensity and stiffness of cartilage was obtained for the 330 nm excitation band [R=0.82, p=0.04]. The intrinsic fluorescence of articular cartilage may have application in optically assessing the state of cartilage in patients with osteoarthritis.