Development of biomimetic super-low friction articulating tissue and evaluation of its mechanical and tribological function

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26289029
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Design engineering/Machine functional elements/Tribology
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Sawae Yoshinori 九州大学, 工学(系)研究科(研究院), 教授 (10284530)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 山口 哲生 九州大学, 工学(系)研究科(研究院), 准教授 (20466783) ; 森田 健敬 九州大学, 工学(系)研究科(研究院), 助教 (70175636)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 低摩擦 / 細胞・組織 / 関節軟骨 / トライボロジー / 再生医療

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The novel culture method for cartilage regeneration was explored to obtain highly functional articulating tissue with the cartilage-like super-low friction characteristic by reproducing the loading condition within the cartilage tissue under walking and exposing chondrocytes being cultured in the scaffold to it. A glass roller was indented into the flat scaffold surface and make a rolling-sliding motion to exert inhomogeneous and transient stress and strain field in the scaffold, which thought to be essential to simulate the mechanical condition inside the cartilage tissue under walking. The experimental system for evaluating the frictional characteristic of elaborated articular tissue was also developed. This system was enabled to measure the deformation of each chondrocyte in the cultured tissue during sliding test since the relationship between the cellular deformation caused by friction at the tissue surface and subsequent functional development of cultured tissue quantitatively.

Free Research Field

バイオトライボロジー