Figure 3

Determination of the averaged chondroitin sulphate chain size by fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis analysis and ratio of ΔDi6S/ΔDi4S. Comparison of (a) number averaged chondroitin sulphate chain size and (b) ratio of ΔDi6S/ΔDi4S in autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) repair and cadaveric control tissues. For each biopsy, the data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation of the replicate measurements. Differences between the repair and control tissue were analysed using the Mann-Whitney test (*p < 0.05%). ΔDi4S, chondroitin-4 sulphate disaccharide; ΔDi6S, chondroitin-6 sulphate disaccharide.