Dehydration and Rehydration Alter Elastic and Viscoelastic Nanomechanical Properties of Cortical and Trabecular Bone

摘要

Evaluation of bone's response to mechanical loading is of critical importance in studies addressing the overall efficacy of therapeutic interventions. Moreover, thorough characterization of bone's response to applied loads should reflect the contributions of both bone mineral (elastic properties) and collagen (viscoelastic properties).rnAt the tissue level, nanoindentation techniques have been used to quantify elastic material properties, and more recently, dynamic viscoelastic properties. One critical issue related to the accuracy of nanoindentation measurements is the inclusion of a dehydration step prior to mechanical testing. This step is often used to improve the quality of the final polished surface, particularly for samples containing trabecular bone. The effect of dehydration and rehydration on elastic material properties has been quantified [1]; however, the sensitivity of viscoelastic material properties to dehydration remains unclear.