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Article
Open AccessThe Emergence of Complexity from a Simple Model for Tissue Growth
The growth of living tissue is known to be modulated by mechanical as well as biochemical signals. We study a simple numerical model where the tissue growth rate depends on a chemical potential describing bioc...
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Article
Open AccessNetwork architecture strongly influences the fluid flow pattern through the lacunocanalicular network in human osteons
A popular hypothesis explains the mechanosensitivity of bone due to osteocytes sensing the load-induced flow of interstitial fluid squeezed through the lacunocanalicular network (LCN). However, the way in whic...
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Article
A materials science vision of extracellular matrix mineralization
From an engineering perspective, skeletal tissues are remarkable structures because they are lightweight, stiff and tough, yet produced at ambient conditions. The biomechanical success of skeletal tissues is l...
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Article
Relationship of Bone Mineralization Density Distribution (BMDD) in Cortical and Cancellous Bone Within the Iliac Crest of Healthy Premenopausal Women
Bone mineralization density distribution (BMDD) is an important determinant of bone mechanical properties. The most available skeletal site for access to the BMDD is the iliac crest. Compared to cancellous bo...
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Article
Open AccessOsteoclasts on Bone and Dentin In Vitro: Mechanism of Trail Formation and Comparison of Resorption Behavior
The main function of osteoclasts in vivo is the resorption of bone matrix, leaving behind typical resorption traces consisting of pits and trails. The mechanism of pit formation is well described, but less is ...
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Article
Semi-analytical approaches to assess the crack driving force in periodically heterogeneous elastic materials
When a crack propagates in a heterogeneous elastic material, its crack driving force depends strongly on the distribution of the local stiffness near the crack tip. In materials with periodic spatial variation...
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Article
The Heterogeneous Mineral Content of Bone—Using Stochastic Arguments and Simulations to Overcome Experimental Limitations
On a sub-millimeter length scale, bone is a very heterogeneous material with varying mineral content. This heterogeneity can be measured by quantitative backscattered electron imaging (qBEI) and quantified by ...
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Article
Open AccessCombination of Nanoindentation and Quantitative Backscattered Electron Imaging Revealed Altered Bone Material Properties Associated with Femoral Neck Fragility
Osteoporotic fragility fractures were hypothesized to be related to changes in bone material properties and not solely to reduction in bone mass. We studied cortical bone from the superior and inferior sectors...
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Article
Open AccessNew Suggestions for the Mechanical Control of Bone Remodeling
Bone is constantly renewed over our lifetime through the process of bone (re)modeling. This process is important for bone to allow it to adapt to its mechanical environment and to repair damage from everyday l...
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Chapter
Collagen: Structure and Mechanics, an Introduction
Collagen type I is the most abundant protein in mammals. It confers mechanical stability, strength and toughness to a range of tissues from tendons and ligaments, to skin, cornea, bone and dentin. These tissue...
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Article
On energy changes due to the formation of a circular hole in an elastic plate
The appearance of holes in crystals, developed in stressed biological structures, has motivated us to study the energy release of an initially undisturbed plate subjected to a biaxial stress state which is dis...
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Article
Complementary Information on In Vitro Conversion of Amorphous (Precursor) Calcium Phosphate to Hydroxyapatite from Raman Microspectroscopy and Wide-Angle X-Ray Scattering
In addition to mechanical functions, bones have an essential role in metabolic activity as mineral reservoirs that are able to absorb and release ions. Bioapatite, considered the major component in the mineral...
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Article
Mechanical modulation at the lamellar level in osteonal bone
The secondary osteon is the fundamental building block of compact cortical bone at the tissue level. Light and scanning electron microscopy have shown that the osteon consists of a laminated cylindrical compos...
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Article
Open AccessSpiral twisting of fiber orientation inside bone lamellae
The secondary osteon — a fundamental building block in compact bone — is a multilayered cylindrical structure of mineralized collagen fibrils arranged around a blood vessel. Functionally, the osteon must be ad...
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Chapter
Complex Biological Structures: Collagen and Bone
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Article
Relating Local Bone Stiffness and Calcium Content by Combined Nanoindentation and Backscattered Electron Imaging
Bone is a hierarchically structured mineral-organic composite material that has to bear static and dynamic mechanical loads applied by body weight and locomotion. Bone mechanical properties are influenced by a...
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Article
Association of COLIA1 Sp1 Alleles with Defective Bone Nodule Formation In Vitro and Abnormal Bone Mineralization In Vivo
Previous work identified a G/T polymorphism affecting a Sp1 binding site in a regulatory region of the COLIA1 gene that predisposes to osteoporotic fractures by affecting bone strength through mechanisms that are...
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Article
Mechanical properties of spruce wood cell walls by nanoindentation
In order to study the effects of structural variability, nanoindentation experiments were performed in Norway spruce cell walls with highly variable cellulose microfibril angle and lignin content. Contrary to ...
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Article
Regular, low density cellular structures - rapid prototy**, numerical simulation, mechanical testing
Cellular solids form the basis of many biological and engineering structures. Most models use the relative density and the mechanical properties of the bulk material as the main parameter for the prediction of...
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Article
Targeted Overexpression of Vitamin D Receptor in Osteoblasts Increases Calcium Concentration Without Affecting Structural Properties of Bone Mineral Crystals
Increased cross-sectional area and strength of long bones has been observed in transgenic mice with 2-fold (OSV9) and 3-fold (OSV3) elevation of osteoblast vitamin D receptor (VDR) levels. In the present study...
