Reconstruction of shear modulus and viscosity of biological tissues from displacement measurement

Natural biopolymer-based hydrogels especially agarose and collagen gels, considering their biocompatibility with cells and their capacity to mimic biological tissues, have widely been used for in-vitro experiments and tissue engineering applications in recent years; nevertheless their mechanical properties are not always optimal for these purposes. Regarding the importance of the mechanical properties of hydrogels, many mechanical characterization studies have been carried out for such biopolymers. In this work, we have focused on understanding the mechanical role of agarose and collagen concentration on the hydrogel strength and elastic behavior. In this direction, Amirkabir Magnetic Bead Rheometry (AMBR) characterization device equipped with an optimized electromagnet, was designed and constructed for the measurement of hydrogel mechanical properties. The operation of AMBR set-up is based on applying a magnetic field to actuate magnetic beads in contact with the gel surface in order to actuate the gel itself. In simple terms the magnetic beads leads give rise to mechanical shear stress on the gel surface when under magnetic influence and together with the associated bead-gel displacement it is possible to calculate the hydrogel shear modulus. Agarose and Collagen gels with respectively 0.2–0.6 wt % and 0.2–0.5 wt % percent concentrations were prepared for mechanical characterization in terms of their shear modulus. The shear modulus values for the different percent concentrations of the agarose gel were obtained in the range 250–650 Pa, indicating the shear modulus increases by increasing in the agar gel concentration. In addition to this, the values of shear modulus for the collagen gel increase as function of concentration in the range 240–520 Pa in accordance with an approximately linear relationship between collagen concentration and gel strength.

Download Full-text

Biological tissue-inspired tunable photonic fluid

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1715810115 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 115 (26) ◽

pp. 6650-6655 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Xinzhi Li ◽

Amit Das ◽

Dapeng Bi

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Phase Transition ◽

Shear Modulus ◽

Biological Tissue ◽

Amorphous Materials ◽

Photonic Bandgap ◽

Fluid Phase ◽

Biological Tissues ◽

Photonic Bandgaps ◽

2D And 3D

Inspired by how cells pack in dense biological tissues, we design 2D and 3D amorphous materials that possess a complete photonic bandgap. A physical parameter based on how cells adhere with one another and regulate their shapes can continuously tune the photonic bandgap size as well as the bulk mechanical properties of the material. The material can be tuned to go through a solid–fluid phase transition characterized by a vanishing shear modulus. Remarkably, the photonic bandgap persists in the fluid phase, giving rise to a photonic fluid that is robust to flow and rearrangements. Experimentally this design should lead to the engineering of self-assembled nonrigid photonic structures with photonic bandgaps that can be controlled in real time via mechanical and thermal tuning.

Download Full-text

A minimal-length approach unifies rigidity in underconstrained materials

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1815436116 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 116 (14) ◽

pp. 6560-6568 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Matthias Merkel ◽

Karsten Baumgarten ◽

Brian P. Tighe ◽

M. Lisa Manning

Keyword(s):

Shear Modulus ◽

Material Properties ◽

First Principles ◽

Large Scale ◽

Biological Tissues ◽

Minimal Length ◽

Imaging Data ◽

Poynting Effect ◽

2D And 3D ◽

Local Geometric Structure

We present an approach to understand geometric-incompatibility–induced rigidity in underconstrained materials, including subisostatic 2D spring networks and 2D and 3D vertex models for dense biological tissues. We show that in all these models a geometric criterion, represented by a minimal lengthℓ¯min, determines the onset of prestresses and rigidity. This allows us to predict not only the correct scalings for the elastic material properties, but also the precise magnitudes for bulk modulus and shear modulus discontinuities at the rigidity transition as well as the magnitude of the Poynting effect. We also predict from first principles that the ratio of the excess shear modulus to the shear stress should be inversely proportional to the critical strain with a prefactor of 3. We propose that this factor of 3 is a general hallmark of geometrically induced rigidity in underconstrained materials and could be used to distinguish this effect from nonlinear mechanics of single components in experiments. Finally, our results may lay important foundations for ways to estimateℓ¯minfrom measurements of local geometric structure and thus help develop methods to characterize large-scale mechanical properties from imaging data.

Download Full-text

Three-Dimensional Visualization of the T-System of Frog Muscle Using High Voltage Electron Microscopy and a Lanthanum Stain

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100080286 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 35 ◽

pp. 570-571 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lee D. Peachey ◽

Clara Franzini-Armstrong

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

High Voltage ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Biological Tissues ◽

High Voltage Electron Microscopy ◽

Transverse Tubular System ◽

Peroxidase Reaction ◽

Voltage Electron ◽

High Voltage Electron ◽

T System

The effective study of biological tissues in thick slices of embedded material by high voltage electron microscopy (HVEM) requires highly selective staining of those structures to be visualized so that they are not hidden or obscured by other structures in the image. A tilt pair of micrographs with subsequent stereoscopic viewing can be an important aid in three-dimensional visualization of these images, once an appropriate stain has been found. The peroxidase reaction has been used for this purpose in visualizing the T-system (transverse tubular system) of frog skeletal muscle by HVEM (1). We have found infiltration with lanthanum hydroxide to be particularly useful for three-dimensional visualization of certain aspects of the structure of the T- system in skeletal muscles of the frog. Specifically, lanthanum more completely fills the lumen of the tubules and is denser than the peroxidase reaction product.

Download Full-text

On the High Voltage Electron Microscopy (1 MeV) of Biological Thick Sections

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100095571 ◽

1972 ◽

Vol 30 ◽

pp. 464-465

Author(s):

William H. Massover

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

High Voltage ◽

Present Report ◽

Biological Tissues ◽

Specimen Preparation ◽

Technical Problems ◽

High Voltage Electron Microscopy ◽

Thin Sections ◽

Voltage Electron ◽

High Voltage Electron

Stereoscopic examination of thick sections of fixed and embedded biological tissues by high voltage electron microscopy has been shown to allow direct visualization of three-dimensional fine structure. The present report will consider the occurrence of some new technical problems in specimen preparation and Image interpretation that are not common during lower voltage studies of thin sections.Thick Sectioning and Tissue Coloration - Epon sections of 0.5 μm or more that are cut with glass knives do not have a uniform thickness as Judged by their interference colors; these colors change with time during their flotation on the knife bath, and again when drying onto the specimen support. Quoted thicknesses thus must be considered only as rough estimates unless measured in specific regions by other methods. Chloroform vapors do not always result in good spreading of thick sections; however, they will spread spontaneously to large degrees after resting on the flotation bath for several minutes. Ribbons of thick sections have been almost impossible to obtain.

Download Full-text

Rapid Critical Point Drying of Tissues in a Parr Bomb

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100095261 ◽

1972 ◽

Vol 30 ◽

pp. 400-401

Author(s):

C.A. Baechler ◽

W. C. Pitchford ◽

J. M. Riddle ◽

C.B. Boyd ◽

H. Kanagawa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Critical Point ◽

Critical Pressure ◽

Soft Tissues ◽

Biological Tissues ◽

Critical Temperatures ◽

Air Drying ◽

The Past ◽

Critical Point Drying ◽

Great Stress ◽

Infiltration Techniques

Preservation of the topographic ultrastructure of soft biological tissues for examination by scanning electron microscopy has been accomplished in the past by using lengthy epoxy infiltration techniques, or dehydration in ethanol or acetone followed by air drying. Since the former technique requires several days of preparation and the latter technique subjects the tissues to great stress during the phase change encountered during air-drying, an alternate rapid, economical, and reliable method of surface structure preservation was developed. Turnbill and Philpott had used a fluorocarbon for the critical point drying of soft tissues and indicated the advantages of working with fluids having both moderately low critical pressures as well as low critical temperatures. Freon-116 (duPont) which has a critical temperature of 19. 7 C and a critical pressure of 432 psi was used in this study.

Download Full-text

Applications of Time-OF-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS)

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100135149 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 308-309

Author(s):

Bruno Schueler ◽

Robert W. Odom

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry ◽

Structural Information ◽

Time Of Flight ◽

Biological Tissues ◽

Polymer Surfaces ◽

Tof Sims ◽

Secondary Ions ◽

Ion Mass Spectrometry ◽

Secondary Ion

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) provides unique capabilities for elemental and molecular compositional analysis of a wide variety of surfaces. This relatively new technique is finding increasing applications in analyses concerned with determining the chemical composition of various polymer surfaces, identifying the composition of organic and inorganic residues on surfaces and the localization of molecular or structurally significant secondary ions signals from biological tissues. TOF-SIMS analyses are typically performed under low primary ion dose (static SIMS) conditions and hence the secondary ions formed often contain significant structural information.This paper will present an overview of current TOF-SIMS instrumentation with particular emphasis on the stigmatic imaging ion microscope developed in the authors’ laboratory. This discussion will be followed by a presentation of several useful applications of the technique for the characterization of polymer surfaces and biological tissues specimens. Particular attention in these applications will focus on how the analytical problem impacts the performance requirements of the mass spectrometer and vice-versa.

Download Full-text