The nanostructures of bone and partially mineralized tissues determine the toughness (Buehler, 2007) and stiffness (Genin et al., submitted) of these tissues. In the attachment of tendon to bone, tissue compositions and possibly nanostructures vary spatially in concert with microscopic and macroscopic variations in tissue shape, presumably to improve load transfer from tendon to bone (Thomopoulos et al., 2006). We hypothesize that undesirable stress concentrations resulting from a failure to recreate the details of this spatial grading following surgical healing may underlie the low levels of success of surgeries to repair tendon-to-bone attachments such as the rotator cuff (Galatz, 2001). Therefore, a detailed understanding of the gradients in composition and structure of the natural tendon-to-bone attachment as well as an understanding of the mechanisms of their development are critical for our efforts to synthesize surgical grafts that augment tendon-to-bone healing. As a first step towards understanding the nanometer-scale details of the tendon-to-bone attachment, we studied the nanostructure of bone using steric modeling and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM).
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ASME 2009 Summer Bioengineering Conference
June 17–21, 2009
Lake Tahoe, California, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Bioengineering Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-4891-3
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
The Nano-Physiology of Mineralized Tissues
Benjamin E. Alexander,
Benjamin E. Alexander
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
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Tyrone L. Daulton,
Tyrone L. Daulton
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
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Guy M. Genin,
Guy M. Genin
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
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Jill D. Pasteris,
Jill D. Pasteris
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
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Brigitte Wopenka,
Brigitte Wopenka
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
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Stavros Thomopoulos
Stavros Thomopoulos
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
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Benjamin E. Alexander
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Tyrone L. Daulton
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Guy M. Genin
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Jill D. Pasteris
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Brigitte Wopenka
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Stavros Thomopoulos
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Paper No:
SBC2009-206616, pp. 55-56; 2 pages
Published Online:
July 19, 2013
Citation
Alexander, BE, Daulton, TL, Genin, GM, Pasteris, JD, Wopenka, B, & Thomopoulos, S. "The Nano-Physiology of Mineralized Tissues." Proceedings of the ASME 2009 Summer Bioengineering Conference. ASME 2009 Summer Bioengineering Conference, Parts A and B. Lake Tahoe, California, USA. June 17–21, 2009. pp. 55-56. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/SBC2009-206616
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