Kinetics of osmotic water movement from rabbit patellar tendon and medial collateral ligament fibroblasts

The present study is part of a program to optimize the cryopreservation lig ament and tendon allografts for the biological remodeling that occurs follo wing transplantation. The osmotic behavior of fibroblasts from the medial c ollateral ligament (MCL) and the patellar tendon (PT) of new zealand white rabbits was measured to obtain the hydraulic conductivity (and its temperat ure dependence) as well as the osmotically inactive volume. MCL fibroblasts were found to have an isotonic cell volume of 3800 mum(3), an osmotically inactive volume of 1300 mum(3), and a hydraulic conductivity of 0.56 mum/mi n/atm at 20 degreesC with an activation energy of 10.9 kcal/mol, PT fibrobl asts were found to have an isotonic cell volume of 6300 mum(3), an osmotica lly inactive volume of 2000 mum(3), and a hydraulic conductivity of 0.71 mu m/min/atm at 20 degreesC with an activation energy of 10.1 kcal/mol.