Bone Characterization Analysis

Bone has a complex hierarchical structure that is not yet fully understood, and the material properties of human bone during early ages of development are still not well researched. Our aim is to study the structure, composition, and various properties of demineralized, deproteinized, and untreated bone samples at different age groups though mechanical testing, imaging and Raman spectroscopy analysis. Since acquiring human bones for study is difficult due to limited availability, bones from young pigs were studied in order to gain insight into human bones. The material characteristics of bone of various ages can be quantified with Raman microscopy by mapping the spectra of pig femur. Spectral readings from four quadrants of the pig femur of ages 0 week, 12 weeks, 24 weeks are collected and analysed. The differences between bones across ages are characterized by comparing the ratios of spectra intensities. Bone samples are also tested by micro-CT imaging and acoustic emissions studies. To gain a more fundamental understanding of bone, it will be separated into the mineral phase and the protein phase by deproteinization and demineralization for each test as well.Ope