Linked Life Data

11742405

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/11742405

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6865
pubmed:dateCreated
2001-12-19
pubmed:abstractText
Despite centuries of work, dating back to Galileo, the molecular basis of bone's toughness and strength remains largely a mystery. A great deal is known about bone microsctructure and the microcracks that are precursors to its fracture, but little is known about the basic mechanism for dissipating the energy of an impact to keep the bone from fracturing. Bone is a nanocomposite of hydroxyapatite crystals and an organic matrix. Because rigid crystals such as the hydroxyapatite crystals cannot dissipate much energy, the organic matrix, which is mainly collagen, must be involved. A reduction in the number of collagen cross links has been associated with reduced bone strength and collagen is molecularly elongated ('pulled') when bovine tendon is strained. Using an atomic force microscope, a molecular mechanistic origin for the remarkable toughness of another biocomposite material, abalone nacre, has been found. Here we report that bone, like abalone nacre, contains polymers with 'sacrificial bonds' that both protect the polymer backbone and dissipate energy. The time needed for these sacrificial bonds to reform after pulling correlates with the time needed for bone to recover its toughness as measured by atomic force microscope indentation testing. We suggest that the sacrificial bonds found within or between collagen molecules may be partially responsible for the toughness of bone.
pubmed:commentsCorrections
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Dec
pubmed:issn
0028-0836
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
13
pubmed:volume
414
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
773-6
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2001
pubmed:articleTitle
Bone indentation recovery time correlates with bond reforming time.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA. jbthomp@physics.ucsb.edu
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't