Dataset Information

Molecular mechanics of mineralized collagen fibrils in bone.

ABSTRACT: Bone is a natural composite of collagen protein and the mineral hydroxyapatite. The structure of bone is known to be important to its load-bearing characteristics, but relatively little is known about this structure or the mechanism that govern deformation at the molecular scale. Here we perform full-atomistic calculations of the three-dimensional molecular structure of a mineralized collagen protein matrix to try to better understand its mechanical characteristics under tensile loading at various mineral densities. We find that as the mineral density increases, the tensile modulus of the network increases monotonically and well beyond that of pure collagen fibrils. Our results suggest that the mineral crystals within this network bears up to four times the stress of the collagen fibrils, whereas the collagen is predominantly responsible for the material's deformation response. These findings reveal the mechanism by which bone is able to achieve superior energy dissipation and fracture resistance characteristics beyond its individual constituents.

SUBMITTER: Nair AK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3644085 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Molecular mechanics of mineralized collagen fibrils in bone.

Nair Arun K AK Gautieri Alfonso A Chang Shu-Wei SW Buehler Markus J MJ

Nature communications 20130101

Bone is a natural composite of collagen protein and the mineral hydroxyapatite. The structure of bone is known to be important to its load-bearing characteristics, but relatively little is known about this structure or the mechanism that govern deformation at the molecular scale. Here we perform full-atomistic calculations of the three-dimensional molecular structure of a mineralized collagen protein matrix to try to better understand its mechanical characteristics under tensile loading at vario ...[more]

PMID: 23591891

Similar Datasets

Project description:Implant osteoinduction and subsequent osteogenic activity are critical events that need improvement for regenerative healing of large craniofacial bone defects. Here we describe the augmentation of the mineral content of a class of mineralized collagen scaffolds under development for craniomaxillofacial bone regeneration via the inclusion of zinc ions to promote osteogenesis in vitro. Zinc is an essential trace element in skeletal tissue and bone, with soluble zinc being shown to promote osteogenic differentiation of porcine adipose derived stem cells. We report the development of a new class of zinc functionalized scaffolds fabricated by adding zinc sulfate to a mineralized collagen-glycosaminoglycan precursor suspension that was then freeze dried to form a porous biomaterial. We report analysis of zinc functionalized scaffolds via imaging (scanning electron microscopy), mechanical testing (compression), and compositional (X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) analyses. Notably, zinc-functionalized scaffolds display morphological changes to the mineral phase and altered elastic modulus without substantially altering the composition of the brushite phase or removing the micro-scale pore morphology of the scaffold. These scaffolds also display zinc release kinetics on the order of days to weeks and promote successful growth and pro-osteogenic capacity of porcine adipose derived stem cells cultured within these zinc scaffolds. Taken together, we believe that zinc functionalized scaffolds provide a unique platform to explore strategies to improve in vivo osteogenesis in craniomaxillofacial bone injuries models. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Craniomaxillofacial bone defects that arise from traumatic, congenital, and post-oncologic origins cannot heal on their own and often require surgical intervention. We have developed a class of mineralized collagen scaffolds that promotes osteogenesis and bone regeneration. Here we describe the inclusion of zinc sulfate into the mineralized collagen scaffold to improve osteogenesis. Zinc functionalized scaffolds demonstrate altered crystallite microstructure but consistent Brushite chemistry, improved mechanics, and promote zinc transporter expression while supporting stem cell viability, osteogenic differentiation, and mineral biosynthesis.

Dataset Information

Molecular mechanics of mineralized collagen fibrils in bone.

Publications

Molecular mechanics of mineralized collagen fibrils in bone.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets