Pizzo, A. M., K. Kokini, L. C. Vaughn, B. Z. Waisner, and S. L. Voytik-Harbin. Extracellular matrix (ECM) microstructural composition regulates local cell-ECM biomechanics and fundamental fibroblast behavior: a multidimensional perspective. J Appl Physiol 98: 1909–1921, 2005. First published December 23, 2004; doi:10.1152/ japplphysiol.01137.2004.—The extracellular matrix (ECM) provides the pri...

PURPOSE Noninvasive assessment of tissue mechanical behavior could enable insights into tissue function in healthy and diseased conditions and permit the development of effective tissue repair treatments. Measurement of displacements under applied loading with MRI (dualMRI) has the potential for such biomechanical characterization on a clinical MRI system. METHODS dualMRI was translated from ...

Background: Tissue engineering is a developing multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary field involving the use of bioartificial implants for tissue remodeling with the target for repair and enhancing tissue or organ function. Acellular nerve has been used in experimental models as a peripheral nerve substitute. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the mechanical and histological cha...

Mechanical behavior is stress-related behavior. This can mean the material response is driven by externally applied stress (or partially), or the underlying processes are mediated by an internal stress field; very often both are true. Due to defects and their collective behavior [1], the spatiotemporal spectrum of stress field in a real material tends to have very large spectral width, with non...

Mechanical forces participate in morphogenesis from the level of individual cells to whole organism patterning. This article reviews recent research that has identified specific roles for mechanical forces in important developmental events. One well defined example is that dynein-driven cilia create fluid flow that determines left-right patterning in the early mammalian embryo. Fluid flow is al...

Single-network hydrogels can have an internal porous structure and biocompatibility, but lower mechanical properties. Combining these properties with another biocompatible mechanically strong network help in mimicking the extracellular matrix of native tissues to make them suitable for tissue scaffolds desired performance. In current objective, we combine poly (ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (...

In recent years, nanocomposite scaffolds made of bioactive polymers have found multiple applications in bone tissue engineering. In this study composite nanofibrous structure of gelatin (Gel)/chitosan (Cs)-polycaprolactone (PCL) containing hydroxyapatite (HA) were fabricated using co-electrospinning process. To assay the biocompatibility and bioactivity of electrospun nanocomposite scaffolds, t...

Collagen is the prime construction material in vertebrate biology, determining the mechanical behavior of connective tissues such as tendon, bone and skin. Despite extensive efforts in the investigation of the origin of collagen unique mechanical properties, a deep understanding of the relationship between molecular structure and mechanical properties remains elusive, hindered by the complex hi...

Atomic force microscopes have become indispensable tools for mechanical characterization of nanoscale and submicron structures. However, materials with complex geometries, such as electrospun fiber networks used for tissue scaffolds, still pose challenges due to the influence of tension and bending modulus on the response of the suspended structures. Here we report mechanical measurements on el...

Atomistic modeling plays a critical role in advancing our understanding of microstructure evolution and mechanical properties. We present progresses in the theory and computation of ideal strength, dislocations activation processes and brittle fracture from the atomic perspective, in close connection with experiments and other levels of modeling. New discoveries are often made in the “virtual a...