Mechanical properties of collagen from decalcified rat femur in relation to age and in vitro maturation

Danielsen, Carl Christian; Andreassen, Troels T.; Mosekilde, Lis

Affiliations

¹Department of Connective Tissue Biology, Institute of Anatomy, University of Aarhus, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark

Abstract and keywords

Cortical bone collagen was obtained by decalcifying femoral bones from 2-,5-,15-, and 25-month-old male rats. Collagen specimens were cut longitudinal to the long axis of the femur and tested mechanically. The maximum load (ultimate strength) and maximum slope of the load-strain curve (maximum stiffness) were found to decrease with age. The age-related reduction in the mechanical parameters resulted from a change in the mechanical strength of the constituent collagen and a change in the morphology of the bone tissue. In vitro aging, produced by incubating for 0–5 months, did not change the mechanical strength of bone collagen specimens obtained from 2-month-old rats. The changes in the mechanical characteristics of bone collagen, accompanying in vivo and in vitro aging are the opposite of those observed in soft tissue collagen. In the latter there is an increase in the mechanical strength during in vivo and in vitro aging.

Keywords: Bone collagen; Mechanical strength; Aging; Rat; Cortical bone

Links

DOI: 10.1007/BF02553293

PubMed: 3091223

WoS: A1986D362800003

History

Received: 1985-08-14

Revised: 1986-03-12

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Cited By (17)

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1996	Oxlund H, Mosekilde L, Ørtoft G. Reduced concentration of collagen reducible cross links in human trabecular bone with respect to age and osteoporosis. Bone. November 1996;19(5):479-484.
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2002	Burr DB. The contribution of the organic matrix to bone's material properties. Bone. July 2002;31(1):8-11.
1993	Danielsen CC, Mosekilde L, Svenstrup B. Cortical bone mass, composition, and mechanical properties in female rats in relation to age, long-term ovariectomy, and estrogen substitution. Calcif Tiss Int. January 1993;52(1):26-33.
2000	Wang X, Bank RA, TeKoppele JM, Hubbard GB, Althanasiou KA, Agrawal CM. Effect of collagen denaturation on the toughness of bone. Clin Orthop Relat Res. February 2000;371:228-239.
1995	Broz JJ, Simske SJ, Greenberg AR. Material and compositional properties of selectively demineralized cortical bone. J Biomech. November 1995;28(11):1357-1368.
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2020	Hexter AT, Shahbazi S, Thangarajah T, Kalaskar D, Haddad FS, Blunn G. Characterisation of the tensile properties of demineralised cortical bone when used as an anterior cruciate ligament allograft. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. October 2020;110:103981.
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