Abstract
Bone, like other tissues, is built from structural elements with nanometer size. The generally complex and hierarchical arrangement of these basic elements into progressively larger structural features renders bone an anisotropic and anatomically distinct material adapted to specific loads and loading cases. Due to the hierarchical structure and complexity of bone the uncovering of structure-function relationships, i.e. the origin of properties such as strength, toughness, and fatigue resistance is a nontrivial task. We have therefore chosen a combined imaging and mechanical/material characterization approach for our experiments. We employ various techniques, such as real-time microdamage detection in single trabeculae via stress-whitening, digital image correlation, time-lapsed atomic force microscopy in combination with tensile testing, and micro-Raman imaging. In this presentation I will show latest results and highlights of our current studies.
Short biography
Philipp Thurner is a Lecturer for Mechanobiology in the Bioengineering Group of the School of Engineering Sciences within the University of Southampton. After earning his MSc in Physics from Graz University of Technology in Austria he abandoned the field of organic semiconductors for Biomedical Engineering and in particular bone research. In 2004 he received his PhD in Materials Science from the Institute for Biomedical Engineering (IBT) of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), being also affiliated with the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA). Prior to his appointment at the School of Engineering Science he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, both in Santa Barbara and San Francisco, from 2004 to 2007, investigating the effects of noncollagenous bone matrix proteins on bone ultrastructure and bone matrix material properties.