Ivan Komala , Yu-Ting Chen , Ying-Chun Chen , Chih-Ching Yeh , Tung-Wu Lu
{"title":"A finite element simulation study on the superficial collagen fibril network of knee cartilage under cyclic loading: Effects of fibril crosslink densities","authors":"Ivan Komala , Yu-Ting Chen , Ying-Chun Chen , Chih-Ching Yeh , Tung-Wu Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107100","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107100","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Collagen, the most abundant protein in the human body, plays a pivotal role in the functioning of tissues such as cartilage of synovial joints. Mathematical modeling enables the more detailed study of the physical behavior of the network under load bearing. In this study, we aimed to develop a microscopic finite element (FE) modeling approach for the study of the stresses and strains of the collagen fibrils of cartilage under mechanical loading. This new approach enabled the two-dimensional modeling of a series of collagen meshwork at the microscopic level based on typical superficial collagen fibril structures of the articular cartilage. A collagen fibril network, a microscopic structure composed of 24 collagen fibrils, was designed to mimic the typical configuration found in the surface layer of cartilage. Twenty networks were developed, each representing one of three distinct crosslink density levels: high, medium, and low. This setup enabled us to investigate the effects of varying fibril connectivity on the network's morphology and its stress and strain responses under continuous biaxial tensile forces and cyclic loading, simulating the contact forces experienced by knee cartilage during walking. It was found that highly-crosslinked meshwork had greater stiffness than lower-crosslinked meshwork but with higher fibril strain under constant load, and that both the collagen meshwork and individual fibrils became stiffer with reduced deformation after several cycles. The current FE modeling approach provides new insights into the structure-function relationships of the collagen-like meshwork, with a specific focus on the unique role of fibril connectivity under mechanical loads. The current results suggest that collagen stiffening after several cyclic loading may lead to the embrittlement of collagen fibrils, altering the mechanical behavior of the cartilage. This study provides further evidence of the importance of the interfibrillar morphology of collagen meshwork in the mechanical behavior of cartilage. The current model illustrates the functional behavior of the collagen network and can be integrated into more comprehensive multiscale cartilage models that include additional components such as water and proteoglycans, thereby enabling a more complete representation of cartilage mechanics. Future research may utilize this collagen-centric model within broader, multi-phase frameworks to examine interactions between the collagen structure, fluids, and the proteoglycan network. These insights into fibril crosslink density-dependent mechanics may help elucidate early micro-mechanical changes occurring during osteoarthritis progression.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":380,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials","volume":"170 ","pages":"Article 107100"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144297738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
T. Dillard , P. Kelkar , N. Chari , K.A. Erk , M. Kappes , Z. Guo
{"title":"Mechanical response of avian skeletal muscle under quasi-static and dynamic uniaxial compression","authors":"T. Dillard , P. Kelkar , N. Chari , K.A. Erk , M. Kappes , Z. Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107103","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107103","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mitigating aeroengine damage from bird-aircraft collisions is crucial to prevent economic losses and even loss of human lives. Because engine testing and validation is often expensive, aircraft engineers depend on computational simulations to maximize engine component protection against high-speed bird-strike events at reduced cost. Since the bulk of a bird's mass is comprised of skeletal muscle, developing an insight into this mechanical behavior is crucial for understanding the muscle tissue's loading, recovery, and breakup behavior within the engines. In this work, we aim to quantify the compressive mechanical response of avian skeletal muscle tissue. Experimental sample preparation protocols and testing procedures were first established to ensure consistent conditions that aim to reproduce the behavior of a live avian muscle specimen subjected to external loads. The samples were then tested in directions parallel and perpendicular to the muscle fibers, and under uniaxial quasi-static and dynamic compression across various strain rates. Avian skeletal muscle was generally observed to be strain-rate dependent for both compression directions. The samples further demonstrated an anisotropic mechanical response under compressive loading, where samples compressed perpendicular to the direction of muscle fibers exhibited markedly stiffer behavior than their parallel counterparts. The current work provides an initial understanding of the avian skeletal muscle mechanical behavior, which can potentially be developed for high-fidelity computational simulations and experiments at relevant engine operational conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":380,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials","volume":"170 ","pages":"Article 107103"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144329783","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anh T.N. Vo , Michael A. Murphy , Raheleh Miralami , Sara Adibi , Filip S.D. To , Tonya W. Stone
{"title":"Molecular dynamics of complex neuronal cell membrane deformation and failure under different traumatic brain injury scenarios","authors":"Anh T.N. Vo , Michael A. Murphy , Raheleh Miralami , Sara Adibi , Filip S.D. To , Tonya W. Stone","doi":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107099","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107099","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Neuronal membrane mechanical deformation and disruption are nanoscale damage mechanisms that critically affect brain cell function and viability during traumatic brain injury (TBI). The nanoscale cellular impairments are elusive in experiments and necessitate computational approaches such as molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Implementing MD simulations, the current study investigates the mechanical deformation, failure, and mechanoporation damage of complex neuronal membrane systems under different strain rates and strain states in the context of TBI. The obtained results revealed that lower strain rates and more equibiaxial strain states were more detrimental to the neuronal membrane, leading to lower failure strain and higher damage during the mechanoporation process. Lower strain rates resulted in fewer pores with larger sizes, as well as smaller strain and area per lipid at failure. Meanwhile, more equibiaxial strain states exhibited more pores and larger pores, thus higher damage and lower failure strain. Regardless of the strain states it was subjected to, the membrane failed when reaching a critical area per lipid value. Moreover, the Membrane Failure Limit Diagram (MFLD) was updated for a complex multicomponent membrane model to identify the strain limits for potential neuronal membrane failure, aiding in the prediction of TBI-related phenomena. Overall, the study provides a non-invasive approach that progresses the current understanding of neuronal mechanical behavior and damage dynamics under various TBI scenarios, and lays the foundation for future biomedical research in brain injury biomechanics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":380,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials","volume":"170 ","pages":"Article 107099"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144469918","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Constitutive modelling of the axon and matrix: A finite element and neural network approach","authors":"Maryam Majdolhosseini, Zhou Zhou, Svein Kleiven","doi":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107082","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107082","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Diffuse axon injury is a common trauma that affects the axons in the brain’s white matter. Computational models of axons, both in isolation and within the matrix, have been developed to study this injury at cellular and tissue levels. However, axonal behaviour depends strongly on the mechanical properties of the surrounding matrix. Accurate material properties of axons and the matrix are essential for realistic modelling of their behaviour. This study characterises the hyper-viscoelastic properties of axons and their matrix for human brain tissue in two different white matter regions. First, previous experimental data on isolated axons under tension were used to determine their mechanical properties. Then, employing finite element analysis, neural networks, and optimisation methods, matrix properties were inferred using experimental data on human brain tissue behaviour under three shear modes at large deformations and varying strain rates. The results indicate that axons are approximately 10–13 times stiffer than the surrounding matrix, depending on the region. The material properties defined in this study provide an accurate representation of axonal and matrix behaviour under injurious conditions, as they are based on large-strain and high-strain-rate data. The constitutive model can be used for a more precise assessment of the injury threshold and the mechanisms of diffuse axon injury at the cellular level.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":380,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials","volume":"170 ","pages":"Article 107082"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144314391","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enhancing the tip positioning of a steerable catheter through quasilinear viscoelastic beam model","authors":"Jajun Ryu, Hwa Young Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107068","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107068","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study introduces a quasilinear viscoelastic (QLV) beam model designed to enhance the tip positioning accuracy of steerable catheters used in minimally invasive surgeries. The catheter is modeled as a QLV beam with multiple segments of varying stiffness to accurately capture its bending behavior. Kinematic equations are presented to calculate the tip position based on the curvature of each segment. Stress relaxation tests are performed to identify the material parameters of the QLV model, and its accuracy is validated through performance tests under random deformations. Comparative performance analysis with elastic and linear viscoelastic models demonstrates that the QLV model achieves superior accuracy. The mean tip position error of the QLV model shows improvements of 80.6% and 30.9% compared to the elastic model and the linear viscoelastic model, respectively. These findings underscore the critical importance of incorporating time-dependent and nonlinear behaviors in accurately modeling the bending of steerable catheters.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":380,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials","volume":"170 ","pages":"Article 107068"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144314410","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
William Snyder , Mostafa Zakeri , Justin Krometis , Romesh Batra , Traian Iliescu , Raffaella De Vita
{"title":"Deep learning reduced order models of vaginal tear propagation","authors":"William Snyder , Mostafa Zakeri , Justin Krometis , Romesh Batra , Traian Iliescu , Raffaella De Vita","doi":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107074","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107074","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Childbirth often has traumatic consequences that profoundly affect the mother’s health. The passage of a baby through the vagina causes tissue lacerations, such as vaginal tears, which lead to pelvic floor disorders later in life. Despite advances in obstetrics, accurately predicting the possible complications of vaginal delivery remains challenging with current clinical methods. This paper introduces new computational methods that integrate finite element (FE) analysis, proper orthogonal decomposition (POD), and machine learning (ML) to predict vaginal deformations and tearing. Based on ex vivo micro-mechanical data collected from rodents, FE models of the vaginal canal subjected to increasing pressure with propagating tears are created. Snapshots of the FE displacement fields at increasing pressures and with different collagen fiber organization in the proximal, mid, and distal regions of the vagina are then used to develop (a) full-order ML models and (b) POD-based reduced order models with coefficients computed using ML. Both the full-order ML models and POD-ML models with POD bases of dimension <span><math><mrow><mi>l</mi><mo>≥</mo><mn>2</mn></mrow></math></span> approximated the FE results with root squared mean errors of <span><math><mrow><mi>O</mi><mrow><mo>(</mo><mn>1</mn><msup><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup><mo>)</mo></mrow></mrow></math></span>. Training (offline) times for the ML and POD-ML models were <span><math><mrow><mi>O</mi><mrow><mo>(</mo><mn>1</mn><msup><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup><mo>)</mo></mrow></mrow></math></span> and <span><math><mrow><mi>O</mi><mrow><mo>(</mo><mn>10</mn><mo>)</mo></mrow></mrow></math></span> seconds, respectively, whereas prediction (online) times for both ML and POD-ML models were <span><math><mrow><mi>O</mi><mrow><mo>(</mo><mn>1</mn><msup><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>3</mn></mrow></msup><mo>)</mo></mrow></mrow></math></span> seconds. Thus, the POD-ML models outperformed the ML models in terms of training efficiency while achieving similar prediction accuracy. Our findings demonstrate that the integration of these techniques can lead to faster computations of vaginal delivery outcomes. POD-based reduced order models and ML-based computational tools emerge as non-invasive methods for quantifying vaginal tissue deformations and tears.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":380,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials","volume":"170 ","pages":"Article 107074"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144253898","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mechanical testing of rubber-like 3D printing materials for cardiovascular modeling applications","authors":"Benigno Marco Fanni , Emanuele Gasparotti , Emanuele Vignali , Federica Giovannini , Giovan Battista Semplici , Giovanni Vozzi , Simona Celi","doi":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107075","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107075","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Three-dimensional (3D) printing has attracted considerable attention in cardiovascular applications, offering potential in both clinical practice and in vitro studies. Accurate reproduction of cardiovascular structures depends not only on imaging accuracy but also on the mechanical properties of printed materials. This study focuses on the mechanical characterization of a new series of rubber-like materials, the <em>Vessel Wall</em> (<span><math><mrow><mi>V</mi><mi>W</mi></mrow></math></span>) series, designed specifically for cardiovascular applications. Six material blends, with increasing stiffness levels, were evaluated through uniaxial and biaxial tensile tests to assess their mechanical behavior and potential suitability for vascular modeling. Results from uniaxial tests showed that the <span><math><mrow><mi>V</mi><msub><mrow><mi>W</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></msub></mrow></math></span>, <span><math><mrow><mi>V</mi><msub><mrow><mi>W</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msub></mrow></math></span> and <span><math><mrow><mi>V</mi><msub><mrow><mi>W</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msub></mrow></math></span> materials present elastic moduli between 0.7 and 0.9 MPa, within the range of compliant vascular tissues, while the stiffer blends (<span><math><mrow><mi>V</mi><msub><mrow><mi>W</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>4</mn></mrow></msub></mrow></math></span>–<span><math><mrow><mi>V</mi><msub><mrow><mi>W</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>6</mn></mrow></msub></mrow></math></span>), with stiffness in the range 1.1–3.2 MPa, may be more suitable for representing pathological or device-interaction scenarios. An overall isotropic behavior was observed, with minimal influence of print orientation on the mechanical response. In biaxial tests, stress correlation between orthogonal directions showed high linearity (R<span><math><msup><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></math></span> = 0.97 ± 0.02), confirming the isotropic mechanical behavior of all blends. In conclusion, the <span><math><mrow><mi>V</mi><mi>W</mi></mrow></math></span> series offers a tunable and reproducible set of materials, with elastic properties comparable to cardiovascular tissue, although not capturing their complex mechanical behavior. This study provides a practical reference for an informed selection of materials for different cardiovascular modeling scenarios.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":380,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials","volume":"170 ","pages":"Article 107075"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144253899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Famke Janssen , Thom Bitter , Eva Hanssen , Peter van Roermund , Nico Verdonschot , Dennis Janssen
{"title":"Mechanical evaluation of the KneeReviver device under axial loading in knee joint distraction therapy for tibiofemoral osteoarthritis treatment – a cadaver study","authors":"Famke Janssen , Thom Bitter , Eva Hanssen , Peter van Roermund , Nico Verdonschot , Dennis Janssen","doi":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107098","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107098","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>Knee joint distraction is a treatment for younger patients (ages 45–65) with tibiofemoral osteoarthritis, aimed at unloading cartilage through separation of the femur and tibia. The KneeReviver is a device specifically developed for this kind of treatment. While the KneeReviver has proven successful for some, the results vary among patients, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of its mechanical behavior. This study aims to investigate the mechanical working principle of the KneeReviver under varying axial loads.</div></div><div><h3>Design</h3><div>An experimental study using five cadaveric knees measured tibiofemoral contact pressures, joint space width narrowing, and spring compression under axial loads of 0, 1.2, 1.5, and 3 times body weight, with and without the KneeReviver.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>It was found that the KneeReviver effectively reduced contact parameters (peak pressure, mean pressure, contact area, and load on cartilage) across all loads in all five cadavers. However, at physiological loading while walking with crutches (1.2 times body weight), the joint space was not fully maintained. Spring compression increased with loading up to 1.2 times body weight but remained constant at higher loads.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>This study confirmed the unloading effect of the KneeReviver. However, it also showed that the joint gap is not fully maintained during the treatment. Furthermore, this study also showed that elastic deformation of bone pins plays a more significant role in joint gap narrowing than the compression of internal device springs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":380,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials","volume":"170 ","pages":"Article 107098"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144221937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Silvia Leccabue , Sara Moccia , Thomas J. Royston , Enrico G. Caiani
{"title":"Estimating shear modulus of isotropic materials from scanning laser Doppler vibrometry via convolutional neural networks","authors":"Silvia Leccabue , Sara Moccia , Thomas J. Royston , Enrico G. Caiani","doi":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107079","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107079","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study explores the use of Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometry (SLDV) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to estimate the stiffness of silicon-based materials. The research is motivated by the growing evidence that tissue mechanical property values are important parameters for diagnosis as they are sensitive to pathological changes. SLDV is a dynamic elastography technique that measures wave propagation and is non-contact, non-invasive, and relatively low-cost. CNNs have been shown to be able to assess mechanical properties from elastography images more accurately than traditional inversion techniques. Soft tissue-mimicking materials were used in the analysis to realistically simulate the properties of soft tissues, exhibiting similar deformation responses and stiffness values. Two different methods of mechanical vibration source were used to stimulate the specimens during imaging. The classification of the shear modulus of the materials was performed on two separate tasks: binary classification and a five-class classification. Open datasets of SLDV images were not present in accessible databases, so the proposed CNN architecture was pre-trained using synthetic wave data generated using a computational model and then fine-tuned with physical data. During the two experiments using physical data, the binary classification achieved an accuracy of 84.4%, and the multi-class classification reported an accuracy of 76.6%. While these results do not yet allow a clinical application for the estimation of the stiffness of organs and soft tissues, they constitute a step forward towards the implementation of an automatic and reliable method for assessing mechanical properties from elastography images.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":380,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials","volume":"170 ","pages":"Article 107079"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144241148","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hutomo Tanoto , Hanwen Fan , Jacob Zachary Chen , Carla Berrospe Rodriguez , Ethan Milton , Fernanda Espinoza , Guillermo Aguilar , Connor P. Dolan , Noriaki Ono , Yuxiao Zhou
{"title":"Investigating simultaneous mineralization across layers during tooth development using atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy","authors":"Hutomo Tanoto , Hanwen Fan , Jacob Zachary Chen , Carla Berrospe Rodriguez , Ethan Milton , Fernanda Espinoza , Guillermo Aguilar , Connor P. Dolan , Noriaki Ono , Yuxiao Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107094","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107094","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tooth development is a complex multi-step biochemical process characterized by the sequential formation and maturation of dental tissues, with biomineralization playing a central role in the production of mineralized tissues essential for various biological functions. This study focuses on the later stages of tooth development, marked by intense biomineralization, during which enamel and dentin undergo crucial structural transformations necessary to fulfill the mechanical functions of the tooth. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanomechanical testing provided insights into the microstructures and mechanical properties of enamel and dentin during both the advanced bell stage and post-eruptive stage. Additionally, Raman spectroscopy measurements revealed variations in the biochemical properties from advanced bell stage to post-eruptive stage. AFM-based micro-rheology results demonstrated that the dental papilla extracellular matrix exhibits spatially heterogeneous viscoelastic responses to dynamic mechanical stimuli, suggesting potential region-specific roles in mechanotransduction during tooth development. These findings highlight the spatial heterogeneity of microstructural, mechanical and biochemical properties that emerge during the late stages of tooth formation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":380,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials","volume":"170 ","pages":"Article 107094"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144262072","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}