Biomimetic pHEMA Hydrogels as an Alternative Cartilage-like Model Material for Biotribological Evaluations.

ABSTRACT: Poly-(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) has been widely explored as a model material for articular cartilage (AC) in biotribological evaluations. However, PVA hydrogels prepared by freeze-thawing or cast-drying methods have limitations in precisely controlling their elasticity parameters and may require reinforcement to enhance their mechanical performance and change their transparency, required in some tribological measurement setups by using fluorescence methods. To overcome these issues, poly-(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) hydrogels have been introduced as alternatives. In our study, pHEMA hydrogels synthesized using free-radical polymerization with blue light under two different atmospheres (nitrogen N₂ and air) were compared with natural samples of articular bovine cartilage. The o

SUBMITTER: Kadlecova Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12489733 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature