A Coupled Experiment-finite Element Modeling Methodology for Assessing High Strain Rate Mechanical Response of Soft Biomaterials

This study offers a combined experimental and finite element (FE) simulation approach for examining the mechanical behavior of soft biomaterials (e.g. ...

Mississippi State University

The purpose of this study was to biomechanically characterize and compare human, porcine, equine, and ovine fetal membranes.

A comparative biomechanical analysis of term fetal membranes in human and domestic species.

Maternal trauma (MT) in automotive collisions is a source of injury, morbidity, and mortality for both mothers and fetuses. The primary associated pathology is placental abruption in which the placenta detaches from the uterus leading to hemorrhaging and termination of pregnancy. In this study, we focused on the differences in placental tissue response to different stress states (tension, compression, and shear) and different strain rates. Human placentas were obtained (n = 11) for mechanical testing and microstructure analysis. Specimens (n = 4+) were tested in compression, tension, and shear, each at three strain rates (nine testing protocols). Microstructure analysis included scanning electron microscopy, histology, and interrupted mechanical tests to observe tissue response to various loading states. Our data showed the greatest stiffness in tension, followed by compression, and then by shear. The study concludes that mechanical behavior of human placenta tissue (i) has a strong stress state dependence and (ii) behaves in a rate dependent manner in all three stress states, which had previously only been shown in tension. Interrupted mechanical tests revealed differences in the morphological microstructure evolution that was driven by the kinematic constraints from the different loading states. Furthermore, these structure-property data can be used to develop high fidelity constitutive models for MT simulations.

Stress state and strain rate dependence of the human placenta.

There is a major need for scaffold-based tissue engineered vascular grafts and heart valves with long-term patency and durability to be used in diabetic cardiovascular patients. We hypothesized that diabetes, by virtue of glycoxidation reactions, can directly crosslink implanted scaffolds, drastically altering their properties. In order to investigate the fate of tissue engineered scaffolds in diabetic conditions, we prepared valvular collagen scaffolds and arterial elastin scaffolds by decellularization and implanted them subdermally in diabetic rats. Both types of scaffolds exhibited significant levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), chemical crosslinking and stiffening -alterations which are not favorable for cardiovascular tissue engineering. Pre-implantation treatment of collagen and elastin scaffolds with penta-galloyl glucose (PGG), an antioxidant and matrix-binding polyphenol, chemically stabilized the scaffolds, reduced their enzymatic degradation, and protected them from diabetes-related complications by reduction of scaffold-bound AGE levels. PGG-treated scaffolds resisted diabetes-induced crosslinking and stiffening, were protected from calcification, and exhibited controlled remodeling in vivo, thereby supporting future use of diabetes-resistant scaffolds for cardiovascular tissue engineering in patients with diabetes.

Mitigation of diabetes-related complications in implanted collagen and elastin scaffolds using matrix-binding polyphenol.

Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome is a congenital defect of the Müllerian ducts characterized by uterovaginal agenesis and underdeveloped female genital organs. This paper is a tribute to the contributors of this condition - August Franz Joseph Karl Mayer, Karl Freiherr von Rokitansky, Hermann Küster and Georges André Hauser. In addition to their contributions, we have discussed findings and reports of similar defects from other important scientists (Hippocrates, Albucasis, etc.) dating as far back as 460B.C. We have also discussed the disease types and different classification systems including VCUAM and AFS/ASRM among others. Even with several surgical and non-surgical treatment options, there are still many questions that remain unanswered and very little is known about the etiology or genetic predisposition of this condition.

Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome: a historical perspective.

The atrioventricular valve leaflets (mitral and tricuspid) are different from the semilunar valve leaflets (aortic and pulmonary) in layered structure, ultrastructural constitution and organization, and leaflet thickness. These differences warrant a comparative look at the bending properties of the four types of leaflets. We found that the moment-curvature relationships in atrioventricular valves were stiffer than in semilunar valves, and the moment-curvature relationships of the left-side valve leaflets were stiffer than their morphological analog of the right side. These trends were supported by the moment-curvature curves and the flexural rigidity analysis (EI value decreased from mitral, tricuspid, aortic, to pulmonary leaflets). However, after taking away the geometric effect (moment of inertia I), the instantaneous effective bending modulus E showed a reversed trend. The overall trend of flexural rigidity (EI: mitral > tricuspid > aortic > pulmonary) might be correlated with the thickness variations among the four types of leaflets (thickness: mitral > tricuspid > aortic > pulmonary). The overall trend of the instantaneous effective bending modulus (E: mitral < tricuspid < aortic < pulmonary) might be correlated to the layered fibrous ultrastructures of the four types of leaflets, of which the fibers in mitral and tricuspid leaflets were less aligned, and the fibers in aortic and pulmonary leaflets were highly aligned. We also found that, for all types of leaflets, moment-curvature relationships are stiffer in against-curvature (AC) bending than in with-curvature bending (WC), which implies that leaflets tend to flex toward their natural curvature and comply with blood flow. Lastly, we observed that the leaflets were stiffer in circumferential bending compared with radial bending, likely reflecting the physiological motion of the leaflets, i.e., more bending moment and movement were experienced in radial direction than circumferential direction.

Sourav S. Patnaik

Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Mississippi State University

A Coupled Experiment-finite Element Modeling Methodology for Assessing High Strain Rate Mechanical Response of Soft Biomaterials

Sourav S. Patnaik

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Mississippi State University

A Coupled Experiment-finite Element Modeling Methodology for Assessing High Strain Rate Mechanical Response of Soft Biomaterials

Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering