Theoretical study of the effect of piezoelectric bone matrix on transient fluid flow in the osteonal lacunocanaliculae

Abstract

A new theoretical generation mechanism of the transient streaming potential considering variations in the surface potential on the wall in a lacunocanalicular system, is proposed based on the assumption of the piezoelectric bone matrix. To obtain the streaming potential analytically, a modified transient charge density equation is proposed. An osteon is modeled as a piezoelectric solid phase having fluid-filled cavities (lacunae) connected by channels (canaliculae) to obtain the pressure gradients in the canaliculae and the electric boundary conditions on the canalicular walls. In addition, this study focused on modeling of the negatively charged glycocalyx that fills the annular fluid space between the osteocytic process and the canalicular wall. It is assumed that the annular fluid space of the canaliculi can be represented as a two-layer configuration for flow through a gap (between the tips of the glycocalyx and the canalicular wall) overlaying the porous glycocalyx. The transient streaming potential and bone fluid flow affected by the generated total potential are analyzed using the one-dimensional lacunocanalicular fluid path, which is surrounded by the piezoelectric bone matrix. A significant increase in the streaming potential is predicted for the case with piezoelectricity. The peak streaming potential value with the piezoelectricity is found to be up to 58.8% greater compared with that without piezoelectricity. The electroviscous effect due to the total electric potential gradients on the fluid velocities in the canaliculi is negligible. These findings imply that the piezoelectric effect caused by deformation of the bone matrix should be considered for prediction of the streaming potential in the lacunocanaliculae. (c) 2018 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 36:2239-2249, 2018.