The dynamic mechanical viscoelastic properties of the temporomandibular joint disc: The role of collagen and elastin fibers from a perspective of polymer dynamics. (December 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fazaeli, Sepanta; Ghazanfari, Samaneh; Mirahmadi, Fereshteh; Everts, Vincent; Smit, Theodoor Henri; Koolstra, Jan Harm
• Is Part Of: Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials. Volume 100(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-12
• Subjects: Temporomandibular joint disc -- Collagen fiber -- Elastin fiber -- Dynamic mechanical properties -- Enzymatic degradation; Biomedical materials -- Periodicals; Biomedical materials -- Mechanical properties -- Periodicals; Biomedical materials; Biomedical materials -- Mechanical properties; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 610.28
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2019.103406
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1751-6161

Abstract

Abstract: The temporomandibular joint disc is a structure, characterized as heterogeneous fibrocartilage, and is composed of macromolecular biopolymers. Despite a large body of characterization studies, the contribution of matrix biopolymers on the dynamic viscoelastic behavior of the disc is poorly understood. Given the high permeability and low concentration of glycosaminoglycans in the disc, it has been suggested that poro-elastic behavior can be neglected and that the intrinsic viscoelastic nature of solid matrix plays a dominant role in governing its time-dependent behavior. This study attempts to quantify the contribution of collagen and elastin fibers to the viscoelastic properties of the disc. Using collagenase and elastase, we perturbed the collagen and elastin fibrillar network in porcine temporomandibular joint discs and investigated the changes of dynamic viscoelastic properties in five different regions of the disc. Following both treatments, the storage and loss moduli of these regions were reduced dramatically up to the point that the tissue was no longer mechanically heterogeneous. However, the proportion of changes in storage and loss moduli were different for each treatment, reflected in the decrease and increase of the loss tangent for collagenase and elastase treated discs, respectively. The reduction of storage and loss moduli of the disc correlated with a decrease of biopolymer length. The present study indicates that the compositional and structural changes of collagen and elastin fibers alter the viscoelastic properties of the disc consistent with polymer dynamics.