Quantifying the hydroxyapatite orientation near the ossification front in a piglet femoral condyle using X-ray diffraction tensor tomography.

ABSTRACT: While a detailed knowledge of the hierarchical structure and morphology of the extracellular matrix is considered crucial for understanding the physiological and mechanical properties of bone and cartilage, the orientation of collagen fibres and carbonated hydroxyapatite (HA) crystallites remains a debated topic. Conventional microscopy techniques for orientational imaging require destructive sample sectioning, which both precludes further studies of the intact sample and potentially changes the microstructure. In this work, we use X-ray diffraction tensor tomography to image non-destructively in 3D the HA orientation in a medial femoral condyle of a piglet. By exploiting the anisotropic HA diffraction signal, 3D maps showing systematic local variations of the HA crystallite orientation in

SUBMITTER: Murer FK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7835348 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature