Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 March 2016
Cartilage is a load bearing tissue that has multiple biological functions. Themajor proteoglycan in cartilage is the bottlebrush shaped aggrecan whosecomplexes with hyaluronic acid provide the compressive resistance of cartilage.The negatively charged aggrecan-hyaluronic acid complexes generate an osmoticswelling pressure within the tissue, which is balanced by the collagen network.To better understand the function of cartilage at the tissue level, we studyaggrecan assemblies using an array of microscopic and macroscopic techniques.The organization of aggrecan assemblies at the supramolecular level is probed bylight scattering, small-angle neutron scattering and small-angle X-rayscattering. Osmotic and rheological measurements are used to investigate themacroscopic physical properties.