Micro-mechanical properties of the tendon-to-bone attachment

The tendon-to-bone attachment (enthesis) is a complex hierarchical tissue that connects stiff bone to compliant tendon. The attachment site at the micrometer scale exhibits gradients in mineral content and collagen orientation, which likely act to minimize stress concentrations. The physiological micromechanics of the attachment thus define resultant performance, but difficulties in sample preparation and mechanical testing at this scale have restricted understanding of structure-mechanical function. Here, microscale beams from entheses of wild type mice and mice with mineral defects were prepared using cryo-focused ion beam milling and pulled to failure using a modified atomic force microscopy system. Micromechanical behavior of tendon-to-bone structures, including elastic modulus, strength, resilience, and toughness, were obtained. Results demonstrated considerably higher mechanical performance at the micrometer length scale compared to the millimeter tissue length scale, describing enthesis material properties without the influence of higher order structural effects such as defects. Micromechanical investigation revealed a decrease in strength in entheses with mineral defects. To further examine structure-mechanical function relationships, local deformation behavior along the tendon-to-bone attachment was determined using local image correlation. A high compliance zone near the mineralized gradient of the attachment was clearly identified and highlighted the lack of correlation between mineral distribution and strain on the low-mineral end of the attachment. This compliant region is proposed to act as an energy absorbing component, limiting catastrophic failure within the tendon-to-bone attachment through higher local deformation. This understanding of tendon-to-bone micromechanics demonstrates the critical role of micrometer scale features in the mechanics of the tissue

X-ray Diffraction Technique with Imaging Plate for Detecting Surface Distribution of Residual Stress in Diaphysis of Bovine Femurs

Stress measurements of bone are essential for evaluating the risk of bone fracture, the cure of bone diseases (e.g., osteoporosis), and the bone adaptation. Previously, a method using X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to assess the presence of residual stress in the diaphysis of bovine and rabbit extremities. However, the previous method required a complicated experimental setup, long irradiation time, and limitations of the sample size. To profoundly enhance the understanding of distribution and biomechanical implications of bone residual stresses, it is necessary to develop an alternative method that features a simple setup without limitations on the sample size and shape. An imaging plate (IP) can obtain the two-dimensional distribution of hydroxyapatite crystal deformation and has the potential to resolve the previously mentioned issues. The aim of this study was to develop a measurement system using an XRD technique with an IP for obtaining the surface distribution of residual stress in the diaphysis of extremities. A mid-diaphysis specimen taken from an adult bovine femur was irradiated with characteristic Mo-K alpha X-rays under no external forces and the diffracted X-rays were detected by an IP in the reflection side. The residual stress in the bone axis was calculated from the XRD pattern. As a result, tensile residual stresses were detected at the diaphyseal surface, corresponding to the results of the previous method. The developed system reduced the irradiation time by two thirds and the limitations of the sample size were removed