Electro-chemo-mechanical couplings in articular cartilages and corneal stroma are due to the presence of electric charges on proteoglycans. In addition, at non-physiological pH, collagen molecules become charged as well. Variation of the pH of the electrolyte has strong implications on the electric charge of these tissues, and by the same token, on their transport and mechanical properties. Indeed, articular cartilages and corneal stroma swell and shrink depending on the composition of the electrolyte, they are in contact with.
Emphasis is laid here on the combined effects of pH, ionic strength, calcium and chloride binding on mechanical properties.
The tissues are viewed as three-phase multi-species porous media. The constitutive framework is phrased in the theory of thermodynamics of deformable porous media. Acid–base reactions, as well as ion binding, are embedded in this framework. Although, macroscopic in nature, the approach accounts for a number of biochemical details defining collagen and proteoglycans.
The model is used to simulate laboratory experiments where specimens of articular cartilages and corneal stroma are put in contact with a bath of controlled chemical composition. Chemical loadings, where the ionic composition and pH of the bath are varied, are intermingled with mechanical loadings. The variations of the stress and strain are observed to depend strongly on the ionic strength and ion type present in the bath: sodium chloride leads to a stiffer response than calcium chloride and hydrochloric acid. Moreover, when the bath changes from basic to acidic, the change of sign of the fixed charge across the isoelectric point has definite mechanical implications, and it gives rise to non-monotonous evolutions of the stress, strain and chemical content.
While the chemo-mechanical effect is a key phenomenon that governs the behavior of tissues with fixed charges, the converse mechano-chemical effect is significant in corneal stroma due to its low stiffness.
