Detection and analysis of cartilage degeneration by spatially resolved streaming potentials

Abstract — Editorial summary

Matched bovine cartilage–bone explants were cultured for eleven days with or without interleukin-1α to investigate whether electrical maps detect matrix deterioration. Compression tests combined mechanical measurements with an array of eight microelectrodes. Treated tissue lost proteoglycans and showed increased collagen damage, together with lower static and dynamic stiffness. Streaming-potential amplitudes declined and their spatial profiles changed. The findings connect biochemical degradation with altered mechanical and electrical behaviour, supporting spatial potential mapping as a nondestructive indicator of cartilage degeneration in this explant model.

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