Nano-imaging of mineralization in developing long bones
(2018) BMEM01 20182Department of Biomedical Engineering
- Abstract
- While the general process of mineralization and bone formation during embryogenesis is well understood, little is known about the detailed mechanisms and the structural and compositional characteristics of developing bone. At present, studies on fetal bones have been conducted, but most of these studies have been on the macro- and microscale.
Bone tissue constitutes of an organic and inorganic matrix, the inorganic matrix is primarily composed of hydroxyapatite (HA), a crystalline material built up from of mainly calcium (Ca) and phosphorous (P). Seeing as the mechanical properties, especially the stiffness of bone tissue are governed by the amount of mineral present, the properties of the inorganic matrix and their geometrical... (More) - While the general process of mineralization and bone formation during embryogenesis is well understood, little is known about the detailed mechanisms and the structural and compositional characteristics of developing bone. At present, studies on fetal bones have been conducted, but most of these studies have been on the macro- and microscale.
Bone tissue constitutes of an organic and inorganic matrix, the inorganic matrix is primarily composed of hydroxyapatite (HA), a crystalline material built up from of mainly calcium (Ca) and phosphorous (P). Seeing as the mechanical properties, especially the stiffness of bone tissue are governed by the amount of mineral present, the properties of the inorganic matrix and their geometrical arrangement together, it is highly relevant to also understand the tissue function on the sub-micron level.
In this experiment, the progressive mineralization of fore- and hind limbs from embryonic mice in different stages of development were evaluated using sub-micron imaging techniques (X-Ray Fluorescence, and Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering), available at the NanoMAX beamline at the synchrotron facility MAX IV, Lund. Here, the XRF provided compositional information on the sub-micron scale and WAXS provided structural information such as crystallinity, crystal length and width at the nanoscale.
The XRF showed that the Ca content increases during development in both fore- and hind limbs, as well as the Ca seeming to originate from within the hypertrophic chondrocytes (cartilage cells). The transition of the Ca into the form of crystalline HA was also shown to increase during development, but with some reshaping of dimensions over time.
This project provides knowledge and a better understanding of the mineralization process and bone formation at the sub-micro and nanoscales. The information is also valuable for other fields where bone tissue is induced, e.g. tissue engineering. Moreover, the data will serve as control for further investigation into how reduced mechanical environment during bone development affects the mineralization; a question that is relevant for understanding and treating several musculoskeletal diseases. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- Mineralization process of developing long bones
Cutting-edge imaging methods were used with unprecedented resolution to measure amount of calcium and mineral crystal in long bones of mice embryos. The calcium content increased during development and the crystals experienced slight reshaping.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8959468
- author
- Silva Barreto, Isabella LU
- supervisor
-
- Hanna Isaksson LU
- Sophie Le Cann LU
- organization
- course
- BMEM01 20182
- year
- 2018
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Bone Development, Microstructure, Composition, Mineralization, X-Ray Fluorescence, Wide Angle X-ray Scattering, Calcium, Hydroxyapatite, Embryonic mice, Nanoscale, Synchrotron, Imaging, Tissue characterization
- language
- English
- id
- 8959468
- date added to LUP
- 2018-10-01 11:01:45
- date last changed
- 2018-10-01 11:01:45
@misc{8959468, abstract = {{While the general process of mineralization and bone formation during embryogenesis is well understood, little is known about the detailed mechanisms and the structural and compositional characteristics of developing bone. At present, studies on fetal bones have been conducted, but most of these studies have been on the macro- and microscale. Bone tissue constitutes of an organic and inorganic matrix, the inorganic matrix is primarily composed of hydroxyapatite (HA), a crystalline material built up from of mainly calcium (Ca) and phosphorous (P). Seeing as the mechanical properties, especially the stiffness of bone tissue are governed by the amount of mineral present, the properties of the inorganic matrix and their geometrical arrangement together, it is highly relevant to also understand the tissue function on the sub-micron level. In this experiment, the progressive mineralization of fore- and hind limbs from embryonic mice in different stages of development were evaluated using sub-micron imaging techniques (X-Ray Fluorescence, and Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering), available at the NanoMAX beamline at the synchrotron facility MAX IV, Lund. Here, the XRF provided compositional information on the sub-micron scale and WAXS provided structural information such as crystallinity, crystal length and width at the nanoscale. The XRF showed that the Ca content increases during development in both fore- and hind limbs, as well as the Ca seeming to originate from within the hypertrophic chondrocytes (cartilage cells). The transition of the Ca into the form of crystalline HA was also shown to increase during development, but with some reshaping of dimensions over time. This project provides knowledge and a better understanding of the mineralization process and bone formation at the sub-micro and nanoscales. The information is also valuable for other fields where bone tissue is induced, e.g. tissue engineering. Moreover, the data will serve as control for further investigation into how reduced mechanical environment during bone development affects the mineralization; a question that is relevant for understanding and treating several musculoskeletal diseases.}}, author = {{Silva Barreto, Isabella}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Nano-imaging of mineralization in developing long bones}}, year = {{2018}}, }