Characterizing the mechanical properties of tropoelastin protein scaffolds

2013 ◽  
Vol 1569 ◽  
pp. 45-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey C. Ford ◽  
Hans Machula ◽  
Robert S. Kellar ◽  
Brent A. Nelson

ABSTRACTThis paper reports on mechanical characterization of electrospun tissue scaffolds formed from varying blends of collagen and human tropoelastin. The electrospun tropoelastin-based scaffolds have an open, porous structure conducive to cell attachment and have been shown to exhibit strong biocompatibility, but the mechanical character is not well known. Mechanical properties were tested for scaffolds consisting of 100% tropoelastin and 1:1 tropoelastin-collagen blends. The results showed that the materials exhibited a three order of magnitude change in the initial elastic modulus when tested dry vs. hydrated, with moduli of 21 MPa and 0.011 MPa respectively. Noncrosslinked and crosslinked tropoelastin scaffolds exhibited the same initial stiffness from 0 to 50% strain, and the noncrosslinked scaffolds exhibited no stiffness at strains >∼50%. The elastic modulus of a 1:1 tropoelastin-collagen blend was 50% higher than that of a pure tropoelastin scaffold. Finally, the 1:1 tropoelastin-collagen blend was five times stiffer from 0 to 50% strain when strained at five times the ASTM standard rate. By systematically varying protein composition and crosslinking, the results demonstrate how protein scaffolds might be manipulated as customized biomaterials, ensuring mechanical robustness and potentially improving biocompatibility through minimization of compliance mismatch with the surrounding tissue environment. Moreover, the demonstration of strain-rate dependent mechanical behavior has implications for mechanical design of tropoelastin-based tissue scaffolds.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saman Naghieh ◽  
Mohammad Reza Karamooz-Ravari ◽  
Md Sarker ◽  
Eva Karki ◽  
Xiongbiao Chen

Tissue scaffolds fabricated by three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting are attracting considerableattention for tissue engineering applications. Because the mechanical properties of hydrogelscaffolds should match the damaged tissue, changing various parameters during 3D bioprintinghas been studied to manipulate the mechanical behavior of the resulting scaffolds. Crosslinkingscaffolds using a cation solution (such as CaCl2) is also important for regulating the mechanicalproperties, but has not been well documented in the literature. Here, the effect of variedcrosslinking agent volume and crosslinking time on the mechanical behavior of 3D bioplottedalginate scaffolds was evaulated using both experimental and numerical methods. Compressiontests were used to measure the elastic modulus of each scaffold, then a finite element model wasdeveloped and a power model used to predict scaffold mechanical behavior. Results showed thatcrosslinking time and volume of crosslinker both play a decisive role in modulating the mechanicalproperties of 3D bioplotted scaffolds. Because mechanical properties of scaffolds can affect cellresponse, the findings of this study can be implemented to modulate the elastic modulus ofscaffolds according to the intended application.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 6504-6513
Author(s):  
M. A. A. Afripin ◽  
N. A. Fadil ◽  
M. Nasir Tamin

The mechanical properties of the thin sputtered copper layer on the SiO2-coated silicon substrate is needed as part of the requirements in quantifying the reliability of the Through-Silicon Via (TSV) interconnects. In this respect, two different Cu coating layers, each from the different sputtering process, are examined. A series of nanoindentation tests are performed on the Cu coating layer samples with indenter speeds ranging from 80 to 400 nm/s, and the indentation depths of 320 nm. The properties of elastic modulus, hardness and the hardening behavior of the Cu coating layers have been quantified. Results show that the coating with higher contamination of C at 8.41 wt. % displays a significant hardening and a peak load level, as reflected in the measured nanoindentation load-displacement curves. However, insignificant effect of the applied probe displacement speeds up to 400 nm/s on the resulting properties of the coating is registered. The Johnson-Cook constitutive equation adequately describes the strain rate-dependent hardening behavior of the Cu coating layer.


2018 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Huang ◽  
Zuguang Bian ◽  
Chengfeng Fang ◽  
Xiaoliang Zhou ◽  
Jizhou Song

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is extensively used in clinical flexible electronics, due to its biocompatibility and stability. When it is employed in a stretchable epidermal sensor for long-term monitoring, PDMS must have open pores within it to assure the sweat penetration. In the present paper, we focus on the mechanical properties of porous PDMS with different volume porosities at different temperatures. The emulsion polymerization technique is applied to fabricate porous PDMS. By controlling the ratio of water to PDMS prepolymer, different porosities of PDMS were obtained, and elastic moduli of such porous PDMS were measured in experiment. Results indicate that the elastic modulus increases nonlinearly as its temperature rises from 0 °C to 40 °C (a temperature range frequently encountered in clinical applications). Meanwhile, an asymptotic homogenization method (AHM) is employed to theoretically predict the elastic modulus and Poisson's ratio of porous PDMS, whose reliability is testified by comparing the results with experimentally measured data. Further theoretical discussions on mechanical properties are carried out, and results show that the pore size of porous PDMS has almost no effect on the elastic modulus and Poisson's ratio for certain porosities. Porosity of porous PDMS, however, has significant effect on both of these two mechanical parameters. Two fitted nonlinear formulas are then proposed to estimate the elastic modulus and Poisson's ratio of porous PDMS for any volume porosity less than 50%. All the results in the present paper are essential for mechanical design and optimization of clinical flexible electronics based on porous PDMS.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 2303
Author(s):  
Congyu Zhong ◽  
Liwen Cao ◽  
Jishi Geng ◽  
Zhihao Jiang ◽  
Shuai Zhang

Because of its weak cementation and abundant pores and cracks, it is difficult to obtain suitable samples of tectonic coal to test its mechanical properties. Therefore, the research and development of coalbed methane drilling and mining technology are restricted. In this study, tectonic coal samples are remodeled with different particle sizes to test the mechanical parameters and loading resistivity. The research results show that the particle size and gradation of tectonic coal significantly impact its uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus and affect changes in resistivity. As the converted particle size increases, the uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus decrease first and then tend to remain unchanged. The strength of the single-particle gradation coal sample decreases from 0.867 to 0.433 MPa and the elastic modulus decreases from 59.28 to 41.63 MPa with increasing particle size. The change in resistivity of the coal sample increases with increasing particle size, and the degree of resistivity variation decreases during the coal sample failure stage. In composite-particle gradation, the proportion of fine particles in the tectonic coal sample increases from 33% to 80%. Its strength and elastic modulus increase from 0.996 to 1.31 MPa and 83.96 to 125.4 MPa, respectively, and the resistivity change degree decreases. The proportion of medium particles or coarse particles increases, and the sample strength, elastic modulus, and resistivity changes all decrease.


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Bo Zhang ◽  
Sizhi Zeng ◽  
Fenghua Tang ◽  
Shujun Hu ◽  
Qiang Zhou ◽  
...  

As a stimulus-sensitive material, the difference in composition, fabrication process, and influencing factors will have a great effect on the mechanical properties of a superelastic Ni-Ti shape memory alloy (SMA) wire, so the seismic performance of the self-centering steel brace with SMA wires may not be accurately obtained. In this paper, the cyclic tensile tests of a kind of SMA wire with a 1 mm diameter and special element composition were tested under multi-working conditions, which were pretreated by first tensioning to the 0.06 strain amplitude for 40 cycles, so the mechanical properties of the pretreated SMA wires can be simulated in detail. The accuracy of the numerical results with the improved model of Graesser’s theory was verified by a comparison to the experimental results. The experimental results show that the number of cycles has no significant effect on the mechanical properties of SMA wires after a certain number of cyclic tensile training. With the loading rate increasing, the pinch effect of the hysteresis curves will be enlarged, while the effective elastic modulus and slope of the transformation stresses in the process of loading and unloading are also increased, and the maximum energy dissipation capacity of the SMA wires appears at a loading rate of 0.675 mm/s. Moreover, with the initial strain increasing, the slope of the transformation stresses in the process of loading is increased, while the effective elastic modulus and slope of the transformation stresses in the process of unloading are decreased, and the maximum energy dissipation capacity appears at the initial strain of 0.0075. In addition, a good agreement between the test and numerical results is obtained by comparing with the hysteresis curves and energy dissipation values, so the numerical model is useful to predict the stress–strain relations at different stages. The test and numerical results will also provide a basis for the design of corresponding self-centering steel dampers.


2011 ◽  
Vol 236-238 ◽  
pp. 1746-1751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kun Liang ◽  
Guan Ben Du ◽  
Omid Hosseinaei ◽  
Si Qun Wang ◽  
Hui Wang

To find out the penetration of PF into the wood cell wall and its effects onthe mechanical properties in the cellular level, the elastic modulus and hardness of secondary wall (S2layer) and compound corner middle lamella (CCML) near PF bond line region were determined by nanoindentation. Compare to the reference cell walls (unaffected by PF), PF penetration into the wood tissues showed improved elastic modulus and hardness. And the mechanical properties decreased slowly with the increasing the distance from the bond line, which are attributed to the effects of PF penetration into S2layer and CCML. The reduced elastic modulus variations were from18.8 to 14.4 GPa for S2layer, and from10.1 to 7.65 GPa for CCML. The hardness was from 0.67 to 0.52 GPa for S2layer, and from 0.65 to 0.52 GPa for CCML. In each test viewpoint place, the average hardness of CCML was almost as high as that of S2layer, but the reduced elastic modulus was about 50% less than that of S2layer. But the increase ratio of mechanical properties was close. All the results showed PF penetrates into the CCML. The penetration behavior and penetration depth from bond line were similar in both S2layer and CCML.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 3032
Author(s):  
Tuan Anh Le ◽  
Sinh Hoang Le ◽  
Thuy Ninh Nguyen ◽  
Khoa Tan Nguyen

The use of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) by-products as aluminosilicate precursors in geopolymer binders has attracted significant interest from researchers in recent years owing to their high alumina and silica contents. Introduced in this study is the use of geopolymer concrete comprising FCC residue combined with fly ash as the requisite source of aluminosilicate. Fly ash was replaced with various FCC residue contents ranging from 0–100% by mass of binder. Results from standard testing methods showed that geopolymer concrete rheological properties such as yield stress and plastic viscosity as well as mechanical properties including compressive strength, flexural strength, and elastic modulus were affected significantly by the FCC residue content. With alkali liquid to geopolymer solid ratios (AL:GS) of 0.4 and 0.5, a reduction in compressive and flexural strength was observed in the case of geopolymer concrete with increasing FCC residue content. On the contrary, geopolymer concrete with increasing FCC residue content exhibited improved strength with an AL:GS ratio of 0.65. Relationships enabling estimation of geopolymer elastic modulus based on compressive strength were investigated. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns revealed that the final product from the geopolymerization process consisting of FCC residue was similar to fly ash-based geopolymer concrete. These observations highlight the potential of FCC residue as an aluminosilicate source for geopolymer products.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erfan Dashtimoghadam ◽  
Farahnaz Fahimipour ◽  
Andrew N. Keith ◽  
Foad Vashahi ◽  
Pavel Popryadukhin ◽  
...  

AbstractCurrent materials used in biomedical devices do not match tissue’s mechanical properties and leach various chemicals into the body. These deficiencies pose significant health risks that are further exacerbated by invasive implantation procedures. Herein, we leverage the brush-like polymer architecture to design and administer minimally invasive injectable elastomers that cure in vivo into leachable-free implants with mechanical properties matching the surrounding tissue. This strategy allows tuning curing time from minutes to hours, which empowers a broad range of biomedical applications from rapid wound sealing to time-intensive reconstructive surgery. These injectable elastomers support in vitro cell proliferation, while also demonstrating in vivo implant integrity with a mild inflammatory response and minimal fibrotic encapsulation.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009524432110153
Author(s):  
Jaber Mirzaei ◽  
Abdolhossein Fereidoon ◽  
Ahmad Ghasemi-Ghalebahman

In this study, the mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP)-based nanocomposites reinforced with graphene nanosheets, kenaf fiber, and polypropylene-grafted maleic anhydride (PP-g-MA) were investigated. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on Box–Behnken design (BBD) was used as the experimental design. The blends fabricated in three levels of parameters include 0, 0.75, and 1.5 wt% graphene nanosheets, 0, 7.5, and 15 wt% kenaf fiber, and 0, 3, and 6 wt% PP-g-MA, prepared by an internal mixer and a hot press machine. The fiber length was 5 mm and was being constant for all samples. Tensile, flexural, and impact tests were conducted to determine the blend properties. The purpose of this research is to achieve the highest mechanical properties of the considered nanocomposite blend. The addition of graphene nanosheets to 1 wt% increased the tensile, flexural, and impact strengths by 16%, 24%, and 19%, respectively, and an addition up to 1.5 wt% reduced them. With further addition of graphene nanosheets until 1.5 wt%, the elastic modulus was increased by 70%. Adding the kenaf fiber up to 15 wt% increased the elastic modulus, tensile, flexural, and impact strength by 24%, 84%, 18%, and 11%, respectively. The addition of PP-g-MA has increased the adhesion, dispersion and compatibility of graphene nanosheets and kenaf fibers with matrix. With 6 wt% PP-g-MA, the tensile strength and elastic modulus were increased by 18% and 75%, respectively. The addition of PP-g-MA to 5 wt% increased the flexural and impact strengths by 10% and 5%, respectively. From the entire experimental data, the optimum values for elastic modulus, as well as, tensile, flexural, and impact strengths in the blends were obtained to be 4 GPa, 33.7896 MPa, 57.6306 MPa, and 100.1421 J/m, respectively. Finally, samples were studied by FE-SEM to check the dispersion of graphene nanosheets, PP-g-MA and kenaf fibers in the polymeric matrix.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document