Interaction Between the Interstitial Fluid and the Extracellular Matrix in Confined Indentation

2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiling Lu ◽  
Wen Wang

The Movement of the interstitial fluid in extracellular matrices not only affects the mechanical properties of soft tissues, but also facilitates the transport of nutrients and the removal of waste products. In this study, we aim to quantify interstitial fluid movement and fluid-matrix interaction in a new loading configuration—confined tissue indentation, using a poroelastic theory. The tissue sample sits in a cylindrical chamber and loading is applied on the top central surface of the specimen by a porous indenter that is fixed on the specimen. The interaction between the solid and the fluid is examined using a finite element method under ramp and cyclic loads. Typical compression-relaxation responses of the specimen are observed in a ramp load. Under a cyclic load, the system reaches a dynamic equilibrium after a number of loading cycles. Fluid circulation, with opposite directions in the loading and unloading phases in the extracellular matrix, is observed. The most significant variation in the fluid pressure locates just beneath the indenter. Fluid pressurization arrives at equilibrium much faster than the solid matrix deformation. As the loading frequency increases, the location of the peak pressure oscillation moves closer to the indenter and the magnitude of the pressure oscillation increases. Concomitantly, the axial stress variation of the solid matrix is reduced. It is found that interstitial fluid movement helps to alleviate severe strain of the solid matrix beneath the indenter. This study quantifies the interaction between the interstitial fluid and the extracellular matrix by decomposing the loading response of the specimen into the “transient” and “dynamic equilibrium” phases. Confined indentation in this manuscript gives a better representation of some in vitro and in vivo loading configurations where the indenter covers part of the top surface of the tissue.

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Tien ◽  
Le Li ◽  
Ozgur Ozsun ◽  
Kamil L. Ekinci

In order to understand how interstitial fluid pressure and flow affect cell behavior, many studies use microfluidic approaches to apply externally controlled pressures to the boundary of a cell-containing gel. It is generally assumed that the resulting interstitial pressure distribution quickly reaches a steady-state, but this assumption has not been rigorously tested. Here, we demonstrate experimentally and computationally that the interstitial fluid pressure within an extracellular matrix gel in a microfluidic device can, in some cases, react with a long time delay to external loading. Remarkably, the source of this delay is the slight (∼100 nm in the cases examined here) distension of the walls of the device under pressure. Finite-element models show that the dynamics of interstitial pressure can be described as an instantaneous jump, followed by axial and transverse diffusion, until the steady pressure distribution is reached. The dynamics follow scaling laws that enable estimation of a gel's poroelastic constants from time-resolved measurements of interstitial fluid pressure.


2003 ◽  
Vol 125 (5) ◽  
pp. 602-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Mauck ◽  
Clark T. Hung ◽  
Gerard A. Ateshian

A primary mechanism of solute transport in articular cartilage is believed to occur through passive diffusion across the articular surface, but cyclical loading has been shown experimentally to enhance the transport of large solutes. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of dynamic loading within a theoretical context, and to investigate the circumstances under which convective transport induced by dynamic loading might supplement diffusive transport. The theory of incompressible mixtures was used to model the tissue (gel) as a mixture of a gel solid matrix (extracellular matrix/scaffold), and two fluid phases (interstitial fluid solvent and neutral solute), to solve the problem of solute transport through the lateral surface of a cylindrical sample loaded dynamically in unconfined compression with frictionless impermeable platens in a bathing solution containing an excess of solute. The resulting equations are governed by nondimensional parameters, the most significant of which are the ratio of the diffusive velocity of the interstitial fluid in the gel to the solute diffusivity in the gel Rg, the ratio of actual to ideal solute diffusive velocities inside the gel Rd, the ratio of loading frequency to the characteristic frequency of the gel f^, and the compressive strain amplitude ε0. Results show that when Rg>1,Rd<1, and f^>1, dynamic loading can significantly enhance solute transport into the gel, and that this effect is enhanced as ε0 increases. Based on representative material properties of cartilage and agarose gels, and diffusivities of various solutes in these gels, it is found that the ranges Rg>1,Rd<1 correspond to large solutes, whereas f^>1 is in the range of physiological loading frequencies. These theoretical predictions are thus in agreement with the limited experimental data available in the literature. The results of this study apply to any porous hydrated tissue or material, and it is therefore plausible to hypothesize that dynamic loading may serve to enhance solute transport in a variety of physiological processes.


Author(s):  
B. R. Simon ◽  
G. A. Radtke ◽  
P. H. Rigby ◽  
S. K. Williams ◽  
Z. P. Liu

Soft tissues are hydrated fibrous materials that exhibit nonlinear material response and undergo finite straining during in vivo loading. A continuum model of these structures (“LMPHETS” [1,2]) is a porous solid matrix (with charges fixed to the solid fibers) saturated by a mobile fluid (water) and multiple species (e.g., three mobile species designated by α, β = p, m, b where p = +, m = −, and b = ± charge) dissolved in the mobile fluid. A “mixed” LMPHETS theory and finite element models (FEMs) were presented [1] in which the “primary fields” are the displacements, ui = xi − Xi and the mechano-electro-chemical potentials, ν˜ξ* (ξ, η = f, e, m, b) that are continuous across material interfaces. “Secondary fields” (discontinuous at material boundaries) are mechanical fluid pressure, pf; electrical potential, μ˜e; and concentration or “molarity”, cα = dnα / dVf. Here an extended version of these models is described and numerical results are presented for representative test problems associated with transport in soft tissues.


2001 ◽  
Vol 281 (1) ◽  
pp. H7-H13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ansgar Berg ◽  
Kristofer Rubin ◽  
Rolf K. Reed

The increased capillary fluid filtration required to create a rapid edema formation in acute inflammation can be generated by lowering the interstitial fluid pressure (PIF). The lowering of PIF appears to involve dynamic β1-integrin-mediated interactions between dermal cells and extracellular matrix fibers. The present study specifically investigates the role of the cell cytoskeleton, i.e., the contractile apparatus of cells, in controlling PIF in rat skin as the integrins are linked to both the cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix. PIF was measured using a micropuncture technique in the dorsal skin of the hind paw at a depth of 0.2–0.5 mm and following the induction of circulatory arrest with the intravenous injection of KCl in pentobarbital anesthesia. This procedure prevented the transcapillary flux of fluid and protein leading to edema formation in acute inflammation, which in turn can increase the PIF and therefore potentially mask a decrease of PIF. Control PIF ( n = 42) averaged −0.8 ± 0.5 (means ± SD) mmHg. In the first group of experiments, subdermal injection of 2 μl cytochalasin D, a microfilament-disrupting drug, lowered PIF to an average of −2.8 ± 0.7 mmHg within 40 min postinjection ( P< 0.05 compared with control). Subdermal injection of vehicle (10% DMSO in PBS or PBS alone) did not change the PIF( P > 0.05). Lowering of the PIF was not observed after the injection of colchicine or nocodazole, which specifically disrupts microtubuli in cultured cells. In the second group of experiments, 2 μl of cytochalasin D injected subdermally into rats with intact circulation increased the total tissue water (TTW) and albumin extravasation rate ( E ALB) by 0.7 ± 0.2 and 0.4 ± 0.3 ml/g dry wt, respectively ( P < 0.05 compared with vehicle). Nocodazole and colchicine did not significantly alter the TTW or E ALB compared with the vehicle ( P > 0.05). Taken together, these findings strongly suggest that the connective tissue cells can participate in control of PIF via the actin filament system. In addition, the observation that subdermal injection of cytochalasin D lowered PIF indicates that a dynamic assembly and disassembly of actin filaments also occurs in the cells of dermal tissues in vivo.


Author(s):  
Yaghoub Dabiri ◽  
LePing Li

The mechanical response of the knee joint has been simulated using finite element methods with elastic material models [1–4]. Fluid pressurization in articular cartilage and menisci has not been considered in the anatomically accurate joint modeling until recently [5–7]. We have recently considered stress relaxation and creep behavior of human knees. The objective of the present study was to investigate the mechanics of the femoral cartilage under cyclical knee compression. We are particularly interested in the determination of loading versus unloading patterns for the fluid pressure and flow, as well as the influence of the loading frequency on the fluid pressurization.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (170) ◽  
pp. 20200612
Author(s):  
A. Andreozzi ◽  
M. Iasiello ◽  
P. A. Netti

Macromolecules and drug delivery to solid tumours is strongly influenced by fluid flow through interstitium, and pressure-induced tissue deformations can have a role in this. Recently, it has been shown that temperature-induced tissue deformation can influence interstitial fluid velocity and pressure fields, too. In this paper, the effect of modulating-heat strategies to influence interstitial fluid transport in tissues is analysed. The whole tumour tissue is modelled as a deformable porous material, where the solid phase is made up of the extracellular matrix and cells, while the fluid phase is the interstitial fluid that moves through the solid matrix driven by the fluid pressure gradient and vascular capillaries that are modelled as a uniformly interspersed fluid point-source. Pulsating-heat generation is modelled with a time-variable cosine function starting from a direct current approach to solve the voltage equation, for different pulsations. From the steady-state solution, a step-variation of vascular pressure included in the model equation as a mass source term via the Starling equation is simulated. Dimensionless 1D radial equations are numerically solved with a finite-element scheme. Results are presented in terms of temperature, volumetric strain, pressure and velocity profiles under different conditions. It is shown that a modulating-heat procedure influences velocity fields, that might have a consequence in terms of mass transport for macromolecules or drug delivery.


Author(s):  
Gerard A. Ateshian ◽  
Michael B. Albro ◽  
Steve Maas ◽  
Jeffrey A. Weiss

The physiological function of biological tissues and cells is critically dependent on the transport of various solutes, such as nutrients, cytokines, hormones, and waste products. Transport in such media may be significantly hindered by the porous solid matrix, which may impart anisotropic transport properties to the solutes. Furthermore, large deformations of soft tissues and cells may significantly alter these transport properties due to concomitant alterations in pore volume and structure. Another potential influence of the porous solid matrix is steric volume exclusion resulting from the ratio of solute size and pore size distribution. This steric effect implies that solute concentration inside a tissue or cell may be less than the concentration in a surrounding bath, and this limit on solubility may be exacerbated under finite deformation due to changes in pore volume. Finally, the osmotic pressurization of the interstitial fluid may deviate from ideal physico-chemical behavior and this deviation may be dependent on the state of strain in the solid matrix. Therefore, a finite element framework that can accommodate solid-solute momentum exchanges, strain-induced anisotropy in transport properties and solubility, and strain-dependent non-ideal osmotic response, can provide an important modeling tool in the biomechanics of soft tissues and cells.


2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 222-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolf K. Reed ◽  
Ansgar Berg ◽  
Eli-Anne B. Gjerde ◽  
Kristofer Rubin

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Hai-Ying Liu ◽  
Hang-Tian Duan ◽  
Chun-Qiu Zhang ◽  
Wei Wang

COMSOL finite element software was used to establish a solid-liquid coupling biphasic model of articular cartilage and a microscopic model of chondrocytes, using modeling to take into account the shape and number of chondrocytes in cartilage lacuna in each layer. The effects of cyclic loading at different frequencies on the micromechanical environment of chondrocytes in different regions of the cartilage were studied. The results showed that low frequency loading can cause stress concentration of superficial chondrocytes. Moreover, along with increased frequency, the maximum value of stress response curve of chondrocytes decreased, while the minimum value increased. When the frequency was greater than 0.2 Hz, the extreme value stress of response curve tended to be constant. Cyclic loading had a large influence on the distribution of liquid pressure in chondrocytes in the middle and deep layers. The concentration of fluid pressure changed alternately from intracellular to peripheral in the middle layer. Both the range of liquid pressure in the upper chondrocytes and the maximum value of liquid pressure in the lower chondrocytes in the same lacunae varied greatly in the deep layer. At the same loading frequency, the elastic modulus of artificial cartilage had little effect on the mechanical environment of chondrocytes.


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