Table 1.

The Biomechanical Parameters (Mean, MPa), Water Content, and Relative Mobility of Major Large PG (Mean, %) of the Samples Analyzed Before and After the Freeze–Thaw Cycle.

	Equilibrium modulus		Dynamic modulus		Water content	PG mobility
Group	Before Mean (95% CI)	After, Mean (95% CI)	Before, Mean (95% CI)	After, Mean (95% CI)	Mean (95% CI)	Mean (95% CI)
Ref	0.81 (0.71-0.91)		4.70 (3.37-6.03)		77.1 (75.9-78.4)	43.6 (41.5-45.7)
1	0.96 (0.85-1.06)	0.93 (0.83-1.04)	6.42 (4.94-7.89)	6.10 (4.79-7.41)*	77.7 (76.5-78.8)	44.6 (42.6-46.6)*
2	0.80 (0.65-0.96)	0.83 (0.68-0.97)	4.56 (3.68-5.45)	4.41 (3.56-5.26)*	78.0 (76.8-79.2)	44.7 (43.5-46.0)*
3	0.87 (0.76-0.98)	0.87 (0.77-0.97)	4.89 (3.68-6.08)	4.57 (3.55-5.59)*	77.8 (76.4-79.1)	44.4 (43.0-45.7)

PG = proteoglycan; CI = confidence interval; Ref = reference group; 1 = samples in PBS bath; 2 = samples in PBS bath containing enzyme inhibitors and antibiotics; 3 = samples in PBS with enzyme inhibitors and antibiotics, freezing in 30% DMSO; *P < 0.05, paired-sample t test (equilibrium and dynamic modulus) and independent-sample t test with Bonferroni–Holm correction (water content and PG mobility) statistical analyses were used (n = 15).