A model for nonlinear viscoelastic mechanical responses of collagenous soft tissues

Experimental observations of the time-dependent mechanical responses of collagenous tissues have demonstrated behavior that deviates from standard treatments of linear or quasi-linear viscoelasticity. In particular, time-dependent deformation can be strongly coupled to strain level, and strain-rate independence can be observed under monotonic loading, even for a tissue with dramatic stress relaxation. It was postulated that this nonlinearity is fundamentally associated with gradual recruitment of individual collagen fibrils during applied mechanical loading. Based on previously observed experimental results for the time-dependent response of collagenous soft tissues, a model is developed to describe the mechanical behavior of these tissues under uniaxial loading. Tissue stresses, under applied strain-controlled loading, are assumed to be a sum of elastic and viscoelastic stress contributions. The relative contributions of elastic and viscoelastic stresses is assumed to vary with strain level, leading to strain- and time-dependent mechanical behavior. The model formulation is examined under conditions of monotonic loading at varying constant strain rates and stress-relaxation at different applied strain levels. The model is compared with experimental data for a membranous biological soft tissue, the amniotic sac, and is found to agree well with experimental results. The limiting behavior of the novel model, at large strains relative to the collagen recruitment, is consistent with the quasi-linear viscoelastic approach. © 2006 Materials Research Society.

Effect of water on mechanical properties of mineralized tissue composites

In the current study, the effects of polar solvents on tissue volume and mechanical properties are considered. Area shrinkage measurements are conducted for mineralized bone tissue samples soaked in polar solvents. Area shrinkage is used to calculate approximate linear and volume shrinkage. Results are compared with viscoelastic mechanical parameters for bone in the same solvents (as measured previously) and with both shrinkage measurements and mechanical data for nonmineralized tissues, as taken from the existing literature. As expected, the shrinkage of mineralized tissues is minimal when compared with shrinkage of nonmineralized tissues immersed in the same polar solvents. The mechanical changes in bone are also substantially less than in nonmineralized tissues. The largest stiffness values are found in shrunken bone samples (immersed in acetone and ethanol). The mineral phase in bone thus resists tissue shrinkage that would otherwise occur in the pure soft tissue phase. © 2007 Materials Research Society.

Viscoelastic analysis of single-component and composite PEG and alginate hydrogels

Hydrogels, three-dimensional hydrophilic polymer networks, are appealing candidate materials for studying the cellular microenvironment as their substantial water content helps to better mimic soft tissue. However, hydrogels can lack mechanical stiffness, strength, and toughness. Composite hydrogel systems have been shown to improve upon mechanical properties compared to their singlecomponent counterparts. Poly (ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) and alginate are polymers that have been used to form hydrogels for biological applications. Singlecomponent and composite PEGDMA and alginate systems were fabricated with a range of total polymer concentrations. Bulk gels were mechanically characterized using spherical indentation testing and a viscoelastic analysis framework. An increase in shear modulus with increasing polymer concentration was demonstrated for all systems. Alginate hydrogels were shown to have a smaller viscoelastic ratio than the PEGDMA gels, indicating more extensive relaxation over time. Composite alginate and PEGDMA hydrogels exhibited a combination of the mechanical properties of the constituents, as well as a qualitative increase in toughness. Additionally, multiple hydrogel systems were produced that had similar shear moduli, but different viscoelastic behaviors. Accurate measurement of the mechanical properties of hydrogels is necessary in order to determine what parameters are key in modeling the cellular microenvironment. © 2014 The Chinese Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics; Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Mechanics of biological networks: from the cell cytoskeleton to connective tissue.

From the cell cytoskeleton to connective tissues, fibrous networks are ubiquitous in metazoan life as the key promoters of mechanical strength, support and integrity. In recent decades, the application of physics to biological systems has made substantial strides in elucidating the striking mechanical phenomena observed in such networks, explaining strain stiffening, power law rheology and cytoskeletal fluidisation - all key to the biological function of individual cells and tissues. In this review we focus on the current progress in the field, with a primer into the basic physics of individual filaments and the networks they form. This is followed by a discussion of biological networks in the context of a broad spread of recent in vitro and in vivo experiments.