Background To prevent further degeneration, it is desirable to fill a meniscal defect with a supportive scaffold that mimics the mechanics of native tissue. Degradable porous scaffolds have been used, but it is unclear whether the tissue that fills the site of implantation is mechanically adequate, particularly with respect to frictional performance. Questions/purposes We therefore determined the frictional behavior of native and engineered meniscal replacement tissue from in vivo implantation over time.

The kinetics of alkylthiol-capped gold nanoparticle (RS/Au-NP) adsorption to alkylthiol/Au self-assembled monolayers (RS/Au-SAMs) has been studied using SPR (surface plasmon resonance) spectroscopy. Variation of the alkylthiol chain terminus (CH3, COOH) and solvent (H2O, hexane) provides insight into the relative importance of solvation energies (in the context of surface energies) and RS/Au-NP structure on adsorption kinetics. The kinetics, fitted to the Langmuir kinetic model, yield adsorption and desorption rate constants. DeltaG(ads) derived from kinetic data are compared to calculated values of work of adhesion (W(adh)), derived from the corresponding surface energies. The absence of a deltaG(ads) - W(adh) correlation arises because the measured kinetics are not reporting the approach to equilibrium and/or because there are factors (i.e., local chain packing defects, surface hydration differences, or particle-particle interactions) not accounted for in calculated W(adh) values.

More than 1 million procedures for the total or partial removal of the meniscus are performed in the United States and Europe each year. However, it has been found that the knee can lose functionality when even small parts of the meniscus are removed, leading to degenerative changes in the joint. Healing of the medial meniscus in particular is problematic since blood vessels are present in only the outer 10–25% of the meniscus, making it desirable to preserve as much of the meniscus as possible.

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