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E. Spiesz, W. Kaminsky, P.K. Zysset:
"A Quantitative Collagen Fibers Orientation Assessment Using Birefringence Measurements: Calibration and Application to Human Osteons";
Journal of Structural Biology, 176 (2011), 3; 302 - 306.

Even though mechanical properties depend strongly on the arrangement of collagen fibers in mineralized tissues, it is not yet well resolved. Only a few semi-quantitative evaluations of the fiber arrangement in bone, like spectroscopic techniques or circularly polarized light microscopy methods are available. In this study the out-of-plane collagen arrangement angle was calibrated to the linear birefringence of a longitudinally fibered mineralized turkey leg tendon cut at variety of angles to the main axis. The calibration curve was applied to human cortical bone osteons to quantify the out-of-plane collagen fibers arrangement. The proposed calibration curve is normalized to sample thickness and wavelength of the probing light to enable a universally applicable quantitative assessment. This approach may improve our understanding of the fibrillar structure of bone and its implications on mechanical properties.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsb.2011.09.009

Project Head Franz G. Rammerstorfer:
Mikromechanik von Lamellenknochen