Determining Thermophysical Parameters of Cryopreserved Articular Cartilage Using Evolutionary Algorithms and...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Tissue Engineering
• Cryobiology

Background:

• Cryopreservation is vital for preserving biological cells and tissues, particularly articular cartilage for reconstructive surgery.
• Accurate thermophysical parameters are crucial for optimizing cryopreservation protocols for articular cartilage.
• Current understanding of these parameters in cryopreserved articular cartilage requires further refinement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and refine the thermophysical parameters of cryopreserved articular cartilage.
• To analyze heat and mass transfer during the cryopreservation of articular cartilage.
• To improve the efficacy of cryopreservation for clinical applications in joint repair.

Main Methods:

• Formulation of a direct problem analyzing heat and mass transfer using the finite difference method.
• Application of an evolutionary algorithm coupled with the finite difference method for inverse problem investigations.
• Identification of thermophysical parameters based on experimental cryoprotectant concentration data.

Main Results:

• Numerical analysis of both direct and inverse problems was performed.
• A relative error between 0.06% and 15.83% was observed when comparing direct problem results with literature parameters to experimental data.
• Modified thermophysical parameters were proposed after solving the inverse problem.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully identified and proposed refined thermophysical parameters for cryopreserved articular cartilage.
• The findings contribute to a better understanding of heat and mass transfer during cartilage cryopreservation.
• Optimized parameters can enhance the clinical success of articular cartilage grafts for joint reconstruction.