{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,18]],"date-time":"2026-01-18T10:52:29Z","timestamp":1768733549190,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"20","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,18]],"date-time":"2019-10-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1571356800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PhD grant PD\/BD\/128140\/2016 (MIT-Portugal program) of A.S. Oliveira, research project PTDC\/CTM-CTM\/29593\/2017 and unit projects UID\/QUI\/00100\/2019 (CQE), UID\/BIM\/04585\/2019 (CiiEM) and UID\/EMS\/50022\/2019 (LAETA, IDMEC)."],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PhD grant PD\/BD\/128140\/2016 (MIT-Portugal program) of A.S. Oliveira, research project PTDC\/CTM-CTM\/29593\/2017 and unit projects UID\/QUI\/00100\/2019 (CQE), UID\/BIM\/04585\/2019 (CiiEM) and UID\/EMS\/50022\/2019 (LAETA, IDMEC)."]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Designing materials for cartilage replacement raises several challenges due to the complexity of the natural tissue and its unique tribomechanical properties. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels have been explored for such purpose since they are biocompatible, present high chemical stability, and their properties may be tailored through different strategies. In this work, the influence of preparation conditions of PVA hydrogels on its morphology, water absorption capacity, thermotropic behavior, mechanical properties, and tribological performance was evaluated and compared with those of human cartilage (HC). The hydrogels were obtained by cast-drying (CD) and freeze-thawing (FT), in various conditions. It was found that the method of preparation of the PVA hydrogels critically affects their microstructure and performance. CD gels presented a denser structure, absorbed less water, were stiffer, dissipated less energy, and withstood higher loads than FT gels. Moreover, they led to friction coefficients against stainless steel comparable with those of HC. Overall, CD hydrogels had a closer performance to natural HC, when compared to FT ones.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma12203413","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,18]],"date-time":"2019-10-18T11:24:15Z","timestamp":1571397855000},"page":"3413","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":62,"title":["Tribomechanical Comparison between PVA Hydrogels Obtained Using Different Processing Conditions and Human Cartilage"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6621-8625","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andreia Sofia","family":"Oliveira","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Qu\u00edmica Estrutural (CQE), Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico-Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Instituto de Engenharia Mec\u00e2nica Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico (IDMEC)-Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Oumar","family":"Seidi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut Sup\u00e9rieur des BioSciences (ISBS), \u00c9cole Sup\u00e9rieure d\u2019Ing\u00e9nieurs de Paris-Est Cr\u00e9teil, 71 Rue Saint-Simon, 94000 Cr\u00e9teil, France"}]},{"given":"Nuno","family":"Ribeiro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Qu\u00edmica Estrutural (CQE), Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico-Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Instituto de Engenharia Mec\u00e2nica Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico (IDMEC)-Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Departamento de Ortopedia, Hospital Lus\u00edadas Lisboa, R. Ab\u00edlio Mendes 12, 1500-458 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5529-1621","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rog\u00e9rio","family":"Cola\u00e7o","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Engenharia Mec\u00e2nica Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico (IDMEC)-Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Ana Paula","family":"Serro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Qu\u00edmica Estrutural (CQE), Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico-Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o Interdisciplinar Egas Moniz (CiiEM), Instituto Universit\u00e1rio Egas Moniz, Quinta da Granja, Monte de Caparica, 2829-511 Caparica, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"461","DOI":"10.1177\/1941738109350438","article-title":"The Basic Science of Articular Cartilage: Structure, Composition, and Function","volume":"1","author":"Fox","year":"2009","journal-title":"Sport. Heal. A Multidiscip. Approach"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"A1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jor.2017.05.001","article-title":"Current concepts in the articular cartilage repair and regeneration","volume":"14","author":"Karuppal","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Orthop."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.22203\/eCM.v009a04","article-title":"Current strategies for articular cartilage repair","volume":"9","author":"Redman","year":"2005","journal-title":"Eur. Cells Mater."},{"key":"ref_4","first-page":"454873","article-title":"Current Surgical Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis","volume":"2011","author":"Reischl","year":"2011","journal-title":"Arthritis"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"196","DOI":"10.2519\/jospt.2012.4083","article-title":"Allograft Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: Indications, Techniques, and Outcomes","volume":"42","author":"Vyas","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Orthop. Sport. Phys. Ther."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Han, Y., Li, X., Zhang, Y., Han, Y., Chang, F., and Ding, J. (2019). Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Regenerative Medicine. Cells, 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/cells8080886"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1900312","DOI":"10.1002\/adhm.201900312","article-title":"Injectable Cholesterol-Enhanced Stereocomplex Polylactide Thermogel Loading Chondrocytes for Optimized Cartilage Regeneration","volume":"8","author":"Wang","year":"2019","journal-title":"Adv. Healthc. Mater."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"454873","DOI":"10.1155\/2018\/3672890","article-title":"Stem Cells in Cartilage Diseases and Repair 2018","volume":"2018","author":"Zhang","year":"2018","journal-title":"Stem Cells Int."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"864","DOI":"10.1177\/0954411915611160","article-title":"Biphasic and boundary lubrication mechanisms in artificial hydrogel cartilage: A review","volume":"229","author":"Murakami","year":"2015","journal-title":"Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Part H J. Eng. Med."},{"key":"ref_10","first-page":"1215263","article-title":"Hydrogel-Based Controlled Delivery Systems for Articular Cartilage Repair","volume":"2016","author":"Madry","year":"2016","journal-title":"Biomed. Res. Int."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"471","DOI":"10.1002\/jbm.a.31238","article-title":"Friction and wear behavior of poly(vinyl alcohol)\/poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) hydrogels for articular cartilage replacement","volume":"83","author":"Katta","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Biomed. Mater. Res. Part A"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"37","DOI":"10.1007\/3-540-46414-X_2","article-title":"Structure and Applications of Poly (vinyl alcohol) Hydrogels Produced by Conventional Crosslinking or by Freezing\/Thawing Methods","volume":"Volume 153","author":"Hassan","year":"2000","journal-title":"Biopolymers PVA Hydrogels, Anionic Polymerisation Nanocomposites"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"159","DOI":"10.1080\/00914037.2016.1190930","article-title":"PVA-based hydrogels for tissue engineering: A review","volume":"66","author":"Kumar","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. Polym. Mater. Polym. Biomater."},{"key":"ref_14","unstructured":"Moreau, D. (2016). Design and Characterization of Hydrogel Films and Hydrogel-Ceramic Composites for Biomedical Applications. [Ph.D. Thesis, PSL Research University]."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3779","DOI":"10.1002\/app.1973.070171219","article-title":"Poly (vinyl alcohol) hydrogels. Formation by electron beam irradiation of aqueous solutions and subsequent crystallization","volume":"17","author":"Bray","year":"1973","journal-title":"J. Appl. Polym. Sci."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"60","DOI":"10.1016\/j.triboint.2014.05.001","article-title":"Effect of irradiation dose on mechanical and biotribological properties of PVA\/PVP hydrogels as articular cartilage","volume":"78","author":"Shi","year":"2014","journal-title":"Tribol. Int."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"141","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biomaterials.2007.09.015","article-title":"The effect of polyethylene glycol on the stability of pores in polyvinyl alcohol hydrogels during annealing","volume":"29","author":"Choi","year":"2008","journal-title":"Biomaterials"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"42","DOI":"10.1016\/S1369-7021(10)70202-9","article-title":"Cryogels: Freezing unveiled by thawing","volume":"13","author":"Kumar","year":"2010","journal-title":"Mater. Today"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"203","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmbbm.2009.07.001","article-title":"Thermal behavior and mechanical properties of physically crosslinked PVA\/Gelatin hydrogels","volume":"3","author":"Liu","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Mech. Behav. Biomed. Mater."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"318","DOI":"10.1002\/pat.3643","article-title":"Factors influencing the swelling and elution properties of poly (vinyl alcohol) cast gels","volume":"27","author":"Sasaki","year":"2016","journal-title":"Polym. Adv. Technol."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"980","DOI":"10.1016\/0032-3861(87)90173-X","article-title":"Thermodynamic consideration of the sol-gel transition in polymer solutions","volume":"28","author":"Kawanishi","year":"1987","journal-title":"Polymer"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1700134","DOI":"10.1002\/biot.201700134","article-title":"Synthetic Poly (Vinyl Alcohol)\u2014Based Membranes for Cartilage Surgery and Repair","volume":"12","author":"Tai","year":"2017","journal-title":"Biotechnol. J."},{"key":"ref_23","first-page":"1518","article-title":"Porous Poly (vinyl alcohol)\u2014Based Hydrogel for Knee Meniscus Functional Repair","volume":"4","author":"Coluccino","year":"2018","journal-title":"ACS Biomater. Sci. Eng."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1457","DOI":"10.1002\/app.1976.070200604","article-title":"Differential scanning calorimetry of crystallized PVA hydrogels","volume":"20","author":"Peppas","year":"1976","journal-title":"J. Appl. Polym. Sci."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"681","DOI":"10.1007\/s10965-010-9464-7","article-title":"The investigation on states of water in different hydrophilic polymers by DSC and FTIR","volume":"18","author":"Guan","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Polym. Res."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Suzuki, A., and Murakami, T. (2016). High-Strength Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) Hydrogels for Artificial Cartilage. Encyclopedia of Biocolloid and Biointerface Science 2V Set, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.","DOI":"10.1002\/9781119075691.ch21"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"826","DOI":"10.1039\/C2SM26763B","article-title":"The role of crystallization and phase separation in the formation of physically cross-linked PVA hydrogels","volume":"9","author":"Holloway","year":"2013","journal-title":"Soft Matter"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"109","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijpharm.2009.10.007","article-title":"Characterization of physical and viscoelastic properties of polymer films for coating applications under different temperature of drying and storage","volume":"384","author":"Perfetti","year":"2010","journal-title":"Int. J. Pharm."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8129","DOI":"10.1039\/c2sm25513h","article-title":"Effects of preparation temperature on swelling and mechanical properties of PVA cast gels","volume":"8","author":"Otsuka","year":"2012","journal-title":"Soft Matter"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1160","DOI":"10.1177\/1350650117712881","article-title":"Superior lubrication mechanism in poly(vinyl alcohol) hybrid gel as artificial cartilage","volume":"231","author":"Murakami","year":"2017","journal-title":"Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Part J J. Eng. Tribol."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19","DOI":"10.1016\/j.triboint.2014.12.013","article-title":"Evaluation of a superior lubrication mechanism with biphasic hydrogels for artificial cartilage","volume":"89","author":"Murakami","year":"2015","journal-title":"Tribol. Int."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Marrella, A., Lagazzo, A., Dellacasa, E., Pasquini, C., Finocchio, E., Barberis, F., Pastorino, L., Giannoni, P., and Scaglione, S. (2018). 3D Porous Gelatin\/PVA Hydrogel as Meniscus Substitute Using Alginate Micro-Particles as Porogens. Polymers, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym10040380"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kumar, G.C.M., and Doddamani, M.R. (2019). Viscoelastic Behavior of HAp Reinforced Polyvinyl Alcohol Composite Hydrogel for Tissue Engineered Articular Cartilages. Advances in Polymer Composites: Mechanics, Characterization And Applications, Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Polymer Composites (ICPC 2018), Surathkal, India, 15\u201316 December 2018, American Institute of Physic.","DOI":"10.1063\/1.5085633"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9242","DOI":"10.1039\/C5TB00989H","article-title":"Physically crosslinked polyvinyl alcohol and gelatin interpenetrating polymer network theta-gels for cartilage regeneration","volume":"3","author":"Miao","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Mater. Chem. B"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1093","DOI":"10.1007\/s10856-005-4711-x","article-title":"Microspheres leaching for scaffold porosity control","volume":"16","author":"Draghi","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Med."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"49","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-05846-7_2","article-title":"Basic Principles of Cryotropic Gelation","volume":"Volume 263","author":"Okay","year":"2014","journal-title":"Polymeric Cryogels: Macroporous Gels with Remarkable Properties"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"320","DOI":"10.3144\/expresspolymlett.2009.40","article-title":"Tailoring of poly (vinyl alcohol) cryogels properties by salts addition","volume":"3","author":"Patachia","year":"2009","journal-title":"Express Polym. Lett."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gottardi, R., Hansen, U., Raiteri, R., Loparic, M., D\u00fcggelin, M., Mathys, D., Friederich, N.F., Bruckner, P., and Stolz, M. (2016). Supramolecular Organization of Collagen Fibrils in Healthy and Osteoarthritic Human Knee and Hip Joint Cartilage. PLoS ONE, 11.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0163552"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1458","DOI":"10.1016\/j.joca.2011.09.007","article-title":"Structural characteristics of the collagen network in human normal, degraded and repair articular cartilages observed in polarized light and scanning electron microscopies","volume":"19","author":"Changoor","year":"2011","journal-title":"Osteoarthr. Cartil."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"41356","DOI":"10.1002\/app.41356","article-title":"Tear force of physically crosslinked poly (vinyl alcohol) gels with different submicrometer-scale network structures","volume":"132","author":"Noh","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Appl. Polym. Sci."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2477","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actbio.2011.02.016","article-title":"Analysis of the in vitro swelling behavior of poly (vinyl alcohol) hydrogels in osmotic pressure solution for soft tissue replacement","volume":"7","author":"Holloway","year":"2011","journal-title":"Acta Biomater."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pavelka, M., and Roth, J. (2010). Articular Cartilage. Functional Ultrastructure, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-211-99390-3"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"186","DOI":"10.1016\/j.colsurfb.2009.07.015","article-title":"Composition dependent structural modulations in transparent poly (vinyl alcohol) hydrogels","volume":"74","author":"Gupta","year":"2009","journal-title":"Colloids Surf. B Biointerfaces"},{"key":"ref_44","first-page":"403472","article-title":"Poly (vinyl alcohol): Physical Approaches to Designing Biomaterials for Biomedical Applications","volume":"2014","author":"Nkhwa","year":"2014","journal-title":"Conf. Pap. Sci."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"193","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clae.2004.08.003","article-title":"Water properties of soft contact lens materials","volume":"27","author":"Tranoudis","year":"2004","journal-title":"Contact Lens Anterior Eye"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1099","DOI":"10.1177\/1350650114530273","article-title":"Superior lubricity in articular cartilage and artificial hydrogel cartilage","volume":"228","author":"Murakami","year":"2014","journal-title":"Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Part J J. Eng. Tribol."},{"key":"ref_47","unstructured":"Gaharwar, A., Schexnailder, P., and Schmidt, G. (2011). Nanocomposite Polymer Biomaterials for Tissue Repair of Bone and Cartilage. Nanobiomaterials Handbook, CRC Press."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"379","DOI":"10.1002\/jor.1100040401","article-title":"Tensile properties of human knee joint cartilage: I. Influence of ionic conditions, weight bearing, and fibrillation on the tensile modulus","volume":"4","author":"Akizuki","year":"1986","journal-title":"J. Orthop. Res."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"031802","DOI":"10.1115\/1.2908895","article-title":"Friction Behavior of Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) Gel Against Stainless Steel Ball in Different Lubricant Media","volume":"130","author":"Pan","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Tribol."},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"311","DOI":"10.1007\/s11249-013-0165-3","article-title":"Friction Properties of Medical Metallic Alloys on Soft Tissue\u2014Mimicking Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) Hydrogel Biomodel","volume":"51","author":"Kosukegawa","year":"2013","journal-title":"Tribol. Lett."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"147","DOI":"10.1007\/s10856-009-3863-5","article-title":"Influence of dynamic load on friction behavior of human articular cartilage, stainless steel and polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel as artificial cartilage","volume":"21","author":"Li","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Med."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1064","DOI":"10.1016\/S0043-1648(03)00113-3","article-title":"Friction characteristics of a potential articular cartilage biomaterial","volume":"255","author":"Covert","year":"2003","journal-title":"Wear"},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.1007\/s10856-016-5700-y","article-title":"Analysis of friction between articular cartilage and polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel artificial cartilage","volume":"27","author":"Li","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Med."},{"key":"ref_54","first-page":"497","article-title":"Effect of Albumin Adsorption on Biotribological Properties of Artificial Joint Materials","volume":"Volume 1120","author":"Horbett","year":"2012","journal-title":"Proteins at Interfaces III State of the Art"}],"container-title":["Materials"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1996-1944\/12\/20\/3413\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T13:27:31Z","timestamp":1760189251000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1996-1944\/12\/20\/3413"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,18]]},"references-count":54,"journal-issue":{"issue":"20","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,10]]}},"alternative-id":["ma12203413"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ma12203413","relation":{},"ISSN":["1996-1944"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1996-1944","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,18]]}}}