Influence of the mineral staggering on the elastic properties of the mineralized collagen fibril in lamellar bone

• Published in: Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials Vol. 42; pp. 243 - 256
• Main Authors: Vercher-Martínez, Ana, Giner, Eugenio, Arango, Camila, Fuenmayor, F Javier
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands 01.02.2015
• Subjects: Bone and Bones - metabolism; Bone and Bones - physiology; Bones; Calcification, Physiologic; Collagen - chemistry; Collagens; Elastic constants; Elastic Modulus; Finite Element Analysis; Mathematical analysis; Mathematical models; Mechanical properties; Minerals; Staggering; Surgical implants; Finite element method; Lamellar bone; Mineralized collagen fibril
• ISSN: 1751-6161; 1878-0180
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2014.11.022

In this work, a three-dimensional finite element model of the staggered distribution of the mineral within the mineralized collagen fibril has been developed to characterize the lamellar bone elastic behavior at the sub-micro length scale. Minerals have been assumed to be embedded in a collagen matrix, and different degrees of mineralization have been considered allowing the growth of platelet-shaped minerals both in the axial and the transverse directions of the fibril, through the variation of the lateral space between platelets. We provide numerical values and trends for all the elastic constants of the mineralized collagen fibril as a function of the volume fraction of mineral. In our results, we verify the high influence of the mineral overlapping on the mechanical response of the fibril and we highlight that the lateral distance between crystals is relevant to the mechanical behavior of the fibril and not only the mineral overlapping in the axial direction.