COMPARISON OF THE BOUNDARY-LUBRICATING ABILITY OF BOVINE SYNOVIAL-FLUID, LUBRICIN, AND HEALON

Purified human umbilical hyaluronate and a commercial preparation of r ooster comb hyaluronate (Healon(R)) intended for intra-articular visco supplementation did not demonstrate the same degree of boundary-lubric ating ability as bovine synovial fluid or its purified lubricating muc in, lubricin (p < 0.01). Boundary lubrication was measured in vitro in an arthrotripsometer oscillating natural latex against polished glass under a load of 0.35 MPa with an entraining velocity of 0.37 mm/s. Th e two hyaluronate solutions possessed the same hyaluronate concentrati on as synovial fluid, but Healon was 4.5 times more viscous. Present p ractice of viscosupplementation therapy for degenerative joint disease is limited and fails to implicate the important role of synovial muci n. Boundary lubrication provided by synovial mucin, independent of its viscosity, is not replicated by hyaluronate hydrogels. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.