Variation in juvenile long bone properties as a function of age: mechanical and compositional characterization

C. Vázquez Sanz, I. Victoria Rodríguez, F. Forriol Campos, E. Tejado, F.J. López-Valdés

Materials Vol. 16, nº. 4, pp. 1637-1 - 1637-13

Summary:

Bone is a heterogeneous, hierarchical biocomposite material made of an organic matrix filled with a mineral component, which plays an important role in bone strength. Although the effect of the mineral/matrix ratio on the mechanical properties of bone during aging has been intensively investigated, the relationship between the mechanical properties and the chemical composition of bone with age requires additional research in juvenile individuals. In this study, bone coupons from bovine and ovine animal species were machined from cortical areas of long bones to quantify whether the variation in mechanical properties at different stages of development is related to the change in the composition of bone tissue. An energy-dispersive X-ray detector (EDX) attached to a scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to perform a compositional analysis of the tissue. In addition, nanoindentation analyses were carried out to address how the elastic modulus changed with age. Nonparametric statistical analyses found significant differences (p < 0.05) in Ca content and elastic modulus between species, but no differences were found within each species with development. A multiple linear regression model found that the elastic modulus was significantly related to the decrease in P and C in the samples, to the animal species (larger in bovine), and development, although not linearly. This model also found an interaction between Ca and development that could explain the lack of significance of the relationship between the elastic modulus and development in the univariate models.

Spanish layman's summary:

Se relaciona la variación del módulo de elasticidad con el cambio de composición del tejido óseo juvenil en dos especies de mamíferos. Proporciona un nuevo conjunto de datos experimentales útiles en el desarrollo de modelos de elementos finitos.

 

 

English layman's summary:

The study investigates the change in the elasticity modulus of juvenile bone tissue with its composition in two mammal species. It adds a new set of experimental data useful to develop FE models of pediatric bone tissue.

Keywords: cortical bone; aging; elastic modulus; nanoindentation; composition

JCR Impact Factor and WoS quartile: 3,400 - Q2 (2022)

DOI reference: https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16041637

Published on paper: February 2023.

Published on-line: February 2023.

Citation:
C. Vázquez Sanz, I. Victoria Rodríguez, F. Forriol Campos, E. Tejado, F.J. López-Valdés, Variation in juvenile long bone properties as a function of age: mechanical and compositional characterization. Materials. Vol. 16, nº. 4, pp. 1637-1 - 1637-13, February 2023. [Online: February 2023]