Osteochondral allografting has been proved to be a useful method to treat diseased or damaged areas of joint surfaces. Operational long-term stocks of grafts which supply a buffer between procurement and utilization would contribute to the commercialization or industrialization of this technology. Vitrification has been thought to be a promising method for successful preservation of articular cartilage (AC), but high concentration cryoprotectants (CPAs) are used which may cause high cellular toxicity. An effective way to reduce CPA toxicity is to increase CPA concentration gradually while the temperature is lowered. Understanding the mechanism of CPA permeation at subzero temperatures is important for designing the cryopreservation protocol. In this research, the permeation of dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO) in ovine AC at subzero temperatures was studied experimentally. Pretreated AC discs were exposed in Me2SO solutions for different time (0, 5, 15, 30, 50, 80, and 120 min) at three temperature levels (−10, −20, and −30 °C). The Me2SO concentration within the tissue was determined by ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry. The diffusion coefficients were estimated to be 0.85×10−6, 0.48×10−6, and 0.27×10−6 cm2/s at −10, −20, and −30 °C, respectively, and the corresponding activation energy was 29.23 kJ/mol. Numerical simulation was performed to compare two Me2SO addition protocols, and the results demonstrated that the total loading duration could be effectively reduced with the knowledge of permeation kinetics.
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