Brillouin spectroscopy and radiography for assessment of viscoelastic and regenerative properties of mammalian bones

Biomechanical properties of mammalian bones, such as strength, toughness, and plasticity, are essential for understanding how microscopic-scale mechanical features can link to macroscale bones’ strength and fracture resistance. We employ Brillouin light scattering (BLS) microspectroscopy for local assessment of elastic properties of bones under compression and the efficacy of the tissue engineering approach based on heparin-conjugated fibrin (HCF) hydrogels, bone morphogenic proteins, and osteogenic stem cells in the regeneration of the bone tissues. BLS is noninvasive and label-free modality for probing viscoelastic properties of tissues that can give information on structure-function properties of normal and pathological tissues. Results showed that MCS and BPMs are critically important for regeneration of elastic and viscous properties, respectively, HCF gels containing combination of all factors had the best effect with complete defect regeneration at week nine after the implantation of bone grafts and that the bones with fully consolidated fractures have higher values of elastic moduli compared with defective bone