Dice Question Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.com

Quantities and morphology of mineral in collagen fibril gap zones

Determine the quantities (volume fraction) and morphological arrangement (particle density, pattern, and distribution) of hydroxyapatite minerals within the gap zones of type I collagen fibrils and in extrafibrillar regions to resolve current uncertainties affecting mechanical modeling.

Information Square Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.com

Background

Conflicting evidence exists on mineral morphology and distribution at nano-scale, including whether minerals are predominantly extrafibrillar or intrafibrillar in the gap region.

Accurate characterization of mineral quantity and morphology is essential to interpret fibril stiffening, sawtooth behavior, bond-breaking patterns, and brittleness observed in simulations and experiments.

References

Since the quantities and morphology of minerals have not been determined precisely, we used several different densities and patterns of mineral distributions in the gap zones.

— Mineral and cross-linking in collagen fibrils: The mechanical behavior of bone tissue at the nano-scale (2403.11753 - Kamml et al., 18 Mar 2024) in Section 4.1 Limitations in fibril geometry and mineralization procedure, Page 9–10