Influence of saline solution absorption and compressive rate on the material properties of brain tissue

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) affect millions of people each year and can result in long-term difficulties in thinking or focusing. Due to the number of people affected by these injuries, significant research has been dedicated to determining the mechanical properties of the brain using postmortem tissue from animals harvested within 24 h. The postmortem brain tissue is often stored in a solution until a rheological experiment is ready to begin. However, the effect of storage duration on the mechanical behavior of brain tissue is not understood. In this paper, postmortem porcine brains were placed in normal saline solution (0.9% NaCl) and refrigerated between 30 min and 6.5 h to allow the brain to absorb the solution. Afterwards, samples from both soaked and freshly extracted brains were subjected to unconfined compression tests at compressive rates of 5, 50, and 500 mm/min. The fractional Zener viscoelastic model was applied to obtain the brain\u27s mechanical properties. While the results did not show a significant relationship between absorption and the long-term stiffness (E∞), both the relaxation time (τ0) and fractional order (α) were statistically influenced by both the length of time in the solution and compressive rate. Further, the instantaneous stiffness (E0) was statistically influenced by the length of time in solution, though not the compressive rate

Inherent Interfacial Mechanical Gradients in 3D Hydrogels Influence Tumor Cell Behaviors

Cells sense and respond to the rigidity of their microenvironment by altering their morphology and migration behavior. To examine this response, hydrogels with a range of moduli or mechanical gradients have been developed. Here, we show that edge effects inherent in hydrogels supported on rigid substrates also influence cell behavior. A Matrigel hydrogel was supported on a rigid glass substrate, an interface which computational techniques revealed to yield relative stiffening close to the rigid substrate support. To explore the influence of these gradients in 3D, hydrogels of varying Matrigel content were synthesized and the morphology, spreading, actin organization, and migration of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) tumor cells were examined at the lowest (<50 µm) and highest (>500 µm) gel positions. GBMs adopted bipolar morphologies, displayed actin stress fiber formation, and evidenced fast, mesenchymal migration close to the substrate, whereas away from the interface, they adopted more rounded or ellipsoid morphologies, displayed poor actin architecture, and evidenced slow migration with some amoeboid characteristics. Mechanical gradients produced via edge effects could be observed with other hydrogels and substrates and permit observation of responses to multiple mechanical environments in a single hydrogel. Thus, hydrogel-support edge effects could be used to explore mechanosensitivity in a single 3D hydrogel system and should be considered in 3D hydrogel cell culture systems

Simulations of hydrogel-coated neural microelectrodes to assess biocompatibility improvement using strain as a metric for micromotion

This study investigates the benefit of coating silicon-substrate microelectrode arrays with hydrogel material for improved biocompatibility. Varying coating thicknesses and hydrogel material descriptions were considered to determine the impact on reducing strain in the surrounding brain tissue caused by relative micromotion of the electrode. Finite element simulations were used to explore biocompatibility by focusing on the longitudinal micromotion of an implanted single electrode shank. The finite element model for the brain and electrode, both with and without the hydrogel coating, remained constant. Three constitutive models were considered to describe the brain and/or hydrogel material: linear elastic, hyperviscoelastic, and fractional Zener. All combinations of these three material descriptions were explored. The simulation results showed that the constitutive model, electrode coating thickness, and the degree of microelectrode adhesion to the brain influenced the maximum principal logarithmic strain and also the maximum electrode displacement. Biocompatibility was improved as evidenced by a reduction in the magnitude of strain in the brain when (i) a hydrogel coating was applied to the silicon electrode, (ii) the thickness of the hydrogel coating was increased, and (iii) the brain adhered completely to the hydrogel coating. A decrease in microelectrode displacement may be a useful metric for assessing an improvement in micromotion reduction.This is the version of the article before peer review or editing, as submitted by an author to Biomedical Physics & Engineering Express. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at DOI: 10.1088/2057-1976/aab990.</p

Deformation of an airfoil-shaped brain surrogate under shock wave loading

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs), during military operations, has increased the incidence of blast-induced traumatic brain injuries (bTBI). The shock wave is created following detonation of the IED. This shock wave propagates through the atmosphere and may cause bTBI. As a result, bTBI research has gained increased attention since this injury's mechanism is not thoroughly understood. To develop better protection and treatment against bTBI, further studies of soft material (e.g. brain and brain surrogate) deformation due to shock wave exposure are essential. However, the dynamic mechanical behavior of soft materials, subjected to high strain rates from shock wave exposure, remains unknown. Thus, an experimental approach was applied to study the interaction between the shock wave and an unconfined brain surrogate fabricated from a biomaterial (i.e. polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)). The 1:70 ratio of curing agent-to-base determined the stiffness of the PDMS (Sylgard 184, Dow Corning Corporation). A stretched NACA 2414 (upper airfoil surface) geometry was utilized to resemble the shape of a porcine brain. Digital image correlation (DIC) technique was applied to measure the deformation on the brain surrogate's surface following shock wave exposure. A shock tube was utilized to create the shock wave and pressure transducers measured the pressure in the vicinity of the brain surrogate. A transient structural analysis using ANSYS Workbench was performed to predict the elastic modulus of 1:70 airfoil-shaped PDMS, at a strain rate on the order of 6 × 103 s−1. Both compression and protrusion of the PDMS surface were found due to the shock wave exposure. Negative pressure was found in a semi-ring area, which was the cause of protrusion. Oscillation of the brain surrogate, due to the shock wave loading, was found. The frequency of oscillation does not depend on the geometry. This work will add to the limited data describing the dynamic behavior of soft materials due to shock wave loading.This is a manuscript of an article published as Zhang, Ling, William J. Jackson, and Sarah A. Bentil. "Deformation of an airfoil-shaped brain surrogate under shock wave loading." Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials 120 (2021): 104513. DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2021.104513. Posted with permission.</p

The mechanical behavior of brain surrogates manufactured from silicone elastomers

The ongoing conflict against terrorism has resulted in an escalation of blast-induced traumatic brain injuries (bTBI) caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The destructive IEDs create a blast wave that travels through the atmosphere. Blast-induced traumatic brain injuries, attributed to the blast wave, can cause life-threatening injuries and fatalities. This study aims to find a surrogate brain material for assessing the effectiveness of head protection systems designed to mitigate bTBI. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is considered as the surrogate brain material. The stiffness of PDMS (Sylgard 184, Dow Corning Corp.) can be controlled by varying the ratio of base and curing agent. Cylindrical PDMS specimen with ratios of 1:10, 1:70, and 1:80 were subjected to unconfined compression experiments at linear rates of 5 mm/min, 50 mm/min, and 500 mm/min. A ramp-hold strain profile was used to simulate a stress relaxation experiment. The fractional Zener viscoelastic model was used to describe the stress relaxation response, after optimization of the material constants for the brain surrogate and shock wave exposure brain tissue. The results show that the low cost PDMS can be used as a surrogate brain material to study the dynamic brain response to blast wave exposure.This is a manuscript of an article published as Zhang, Ling, William J. Jackson, and Sarah A. Bentil. "The mechanical behavior of brain surrogates manufactured from silicone elastomers." Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials 95 (2019): 180-190. DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2019.04.005. Posted with permission.</p

Influence of saline solution absorption and compressive rate on the material properties of brain tissue

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) affect millions of people each year and can result in long-term difficulties in thinking or focusing. Due to the number of people affected by these injuries, significant research has been dedicated to determining the mechanical properties of the brain using postmortem tissue from animals harvested within 24 h. The postmortem brain tissue is often stored in a solution until a rheological experiment is ready to begin. However, the effect of storage duration on the mechanical behavior of brain tissue is not understood. In this paper, postmortem porcine brains were placed in normal saline solution (0.9% NaCl) and refrigerated between 30 min and 6.5 h to allow the brain to absorb the solution. Afterwards, samples from both soaked and freshly extracted brains were subjected to unconfined compression tests at compressive rates of 5, 50, and 500 mm/min. The fractional Zener viscoelastic model was applied to obtain the brain's mechanical properties. While the results did not show a significant relationship between absorption and the long-term stiffness (E∞), both the relaxation time (τ0) and fractional order (α) were statistically influenced by both the length of time in the solution and compressive rate. Further, the instantaneous stiffness (E0) was statistically influenced by the length of time in solution, though not the compressive rate.This is a manuscript of an article published as McCarty, Annastacia K., Ling Zhang, Sarah Hansen, William J. Jackson, and Sarah A. Bentil. "Influence of saline solution absorption and compressive rate on the material properties of brain tissue." Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials 97 (2019): 355-364. DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2019.05.028. Posted with permission.</p

Viscoelastic properties of shock wave exposed brain tissue subjected to unconfined compression experiments

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) affect millions of people each year. While research has been dedicated to determining the mechanical properties of the uninjured brain, there has been a lack of investigation on the mechanical properties of the brain after experiencing a primary blast-induced TBI. In this paper, whole porcine brains were exposed to a shock wave to simulate blast-induced TBI. First, ten (10) brains were subjected to unconfined compression experiments immediately following shock wave exposure. In addition, 22 brains exposed to a shock wave were placed in saline solution and refrigerated between 30 minutes and 6.0 hours before undergoing unconfined compression experiments. This study aimed to investigate the effect of a time delay on the viscoelastic properties in the event that an experiment cannot be completed immediately. Samples from both soaked and freshly extracted brains were subjected to compressive rates of 5, 50, and 500 mm/min during the unconfined compression experiments. The fractional Zener (FZ) viscoelastic model was applied to obtain the brain's material properties. The length of time in the solution statistically influenced three of the four FZ coefficients, E0 (instantaneous elastic response), τ0 (relaxation time), and α (fractional order). Further, the compressive rate statistically influenced τ0 and α.This is a manuscript of an article published as McCarty, Annastacia K., Ling Zhang, Sarah Hansen, William J. Jackson, and Sarah A. Bentil. "Viscoelastic properties of shock wave exposed brain tissue subjected to unconfined compression experiments." Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials (2019): 103380. DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2019.103380. Posted with permission.</p

Viscoelastic Properties of Inert Solid Rocket Propellants Exposed to a Shock Wave

Inert solid rocket propellant samples were subjected to dynamic inflation experiments, to characterize the viscoelastic response at high strain rates. An oxyacetylene-driven shock tube created the shock wave, which was used to dynamically pressurize the surface of the samples during the inflation experiments. Two high-speed cameras captured the deforming samples, which were speckled to measure the full-field surface displacements using the digital image correlation (DIC) algorithm. An inverse finite element analysis (iFEA) was used to calibrate parameters of a generalized Maxwell model (i. e. Prony series), which was used to characterize the propellants’ viscoelastic response to shock wave exposure. The viscoelastic parameters calibrated using a Prony series with one Maxwell branch provided a better fit with the out-of-plane displacement data from DIC. At least 50 % of the energy dissipated, within the inert solid rocket propellant, occurred within 5 ms following shock wave exposure. The softening phenomenon, due to debonding of the particles embedded in the inert solid rocket propellant, occurred since there was a decrease in instantaneous elastic modulus with increased strain rate. The results of this study will add to the limited knowledge of the linear viscoelastic behavior of inert HTPB propellant at high strain rates and may improve the predictive capabilities of health-monitoring sensors that assess the solid rocket propellant's structural integrity.This article is published as Bentil, Sarah A., William J. Jackson, Christopher Williams, and Timothy C. Miller. "Viscoelastic Properties of Inert Solid Rocket Propellants Exposed to a Shock Wave." Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics 47, no. 1 (2022). DOI: 10.1002/prep.202100055. Posted with permission.See below for supplementary data supporting the article in Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics (2021).</p