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Processes
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Mechanics of Biological Tissues and Biomaterials
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Mechanics of Biological Tissues and Biomaterials

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Biological Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 13714

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Silvia Todros

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Industrial Engineering, Centre for Mechanics of Biological Materials, University of Padova, via Venezia 1, 35131 Padova, Italy
2. Centre for Mechanics of Biological Materials, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
Interests: biomaterials, biomedical polymers, and biological tissues; prostheses and biomedical devices; tissue engineering; experimental characterization of physicochemical, morphological, and mechanical properties of biomaterials; computational modeling of biological tissues and structures
Dr. Alice Berardo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
2. Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
3. Centre for Mechanics of Biological Materials, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Interests: computational biomechanics of soft tissues; gastric mechanics; mechanical characterization of biological materials; tribology and friction phenomena
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The analysis of the mechanical behavior of biological tissues and biomaterials has increased its importance in the last few decades, due to the recognition of the fundamental role played by mechanical biocompatibility in medical devices and surgical repair of biological tissues. Mechanics regulates different biological processes at the molecular, cellular, tissue, and organ levels, thus influencing their structure, composition, and response to external stimuli. Research activities in this area have further spread in more recent years due to the development of novel biomaterials for new fields of application, along with the emergence of advanced computational techniques to support experimental procedures.

This Special Issue on “Mechanics of Biological Tissues and Biomaterials” aims at collecting high-quality contributions that focus on the investigation of the mechanical behavior of biological tissues and biomaterials for medical applications. Topics include but are not limited to:

  • Mechanical properties of biological tissues and biomaterials;
  • Biomechanics;
  • Tissue engineering;
  • Mechanics of smart biomaterials;
  • Mechanics at molecular and cellular levels;
  • Effect of damage, trauma, and aging on biological tissue mechanics;
  • Methodologies for experimental testing of tissues and biomaterials mechanics;
  • Constitutive and computational modeling;
  • Biorobotics;
  • Advanced therapeutic and diagnostic procedures.

Dr. Silvia Todros
Dr. Alice Berardo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biological tissue
  • biomaterials
  • medical devices
  • biomechanics
  • experimental analysis
  • computational biomechanics

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 2103 KiB  
Article
Mechanical Behavior of Subcutaneous and Visceral Abdominal Adipose Tissue in Patients with Obesity
by Chiara Giulia Fontanella, Ilaria Toniolo, Mirto Foletto, Luca Prevedello and Emanuele Luigi Carniel
Processes 2022, 10(9), 1798; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr10091798 - 07 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3182
Abstract
The mechanical characterization of adipose tissues is important for various medical purposes, including plastic surgery and biomechanical applications, such as computational human body models for the simulation of surgical procedures or injury prediction, for example, in the evaluation of vehicle crashworthiness. In this [...] Read more.
The mechanical characterization of adipose tissues is important for various medical purposes, including plastic surgery and biomechanical applications, such as computational human body models for the simulation of surgical procedures or injury prediction, for example, in the evaluation of vehicle crashworthiness. In this context, the measurement of human subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) mechanical properties in relation to subject characteristics may be really relevant. The aim of this work was to properly characterize the mechanical response of adipose tissues in patients with obesity. Then, the data were exploited to develop a reliable finite element model of the adipose tissues characterized by a constitutive material model that accounted for nonlinear elasticity and time dependence. Mechanical tests have been performed on both SAT and VAT specimens, which have been harvested from patients with severe obesity during standard laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy intervention. The experimental campaign included indentation tests, which permitted us to obtain the initial/final indentation stiffnesses for each specimen. Statistical results revealed a higher statistical stiffness in SAT than in VAT, with an initial/final indentation stiffness of 1.65 (SD ± 0.29) N/30.30 (SD ± 20) N compared to 1.29 (SD ± 0.30) N/21.00 (SD ± 16) N. Moreover, the results showed that gender, BMI, and age did not significantly affect the stiffness. The experimental results were used in the identification of the constitutive parameters to be inserted in the constitutive material model. Such constitutive characterization of VAT and SAT mechanics can be the starting point for the future development of more accurate computational models of the human adipose tissue and, in general, of the human body for the optimization of numerous medical and biomechanical procedures and applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanics of Biological Tissues and Biomaterials)
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17 pages, 3627 KiB  
Article
Determination of Cross-Directional and Cross-Wall Variations of Passive Biaxial Mechanical Properties of Rat Myocardia
by Harry Ngwangwa, Fulufhelo Nemavhola, Thanyani Pandelani, Makhosasana Msibi, Israel Mabuda, Neil Davies and Thomas Franz
Processes 2022, 10(4), 629; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr10040629 - 24 Mar 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2070
Abstract
Heart myocardia are critical to the facilitation of heart pumping and blood circulating around the body. The biaxial mechanical testing of the left ventricle (LV) has been extensively utilised to build the computational model of the whole heart with little importance given to [...] Read more.
Heart myocardia are critical to the facilitation of heart pumping and blood circulating around the body. The biaxial mechanical testing of the left ventricle (LV) has been extensively utilised to build the computational model of the whole heart with little importance given to the unique mechanical properties of the right ventricle (RV) and cardiac septum (SPW). Most of those studies focussed on the LV of the heart and then applied the obtained characteristics with a few modifications to the right side of the heart. However, the assumption that the LV characteristics applies to the RV has been contested over time with the realisation that the right side of the heart possesses its own unique mechanical properties that are widely distinct from that of the left side of the heart. This paper evaluates the passive mechanical property differences in the three main walls of the rat heart based on biaxial tensile test data. Fifteen mature Wistar rats weighing 225 ± 25 g were euthanised by inhalation of 5% halothane. The hearts were excised after which all the top chambers comprising the two atria, pulmonary and vena cava trunks, aorta, and valves were all dissected out. Then, 5 × 5 mm sections from the middle of each wall were carefully dissected with a surgical knife to avoid overly pre-straining the specimens. The specimens were subjected to tensile testing. The elastic moduli, peak stresses in the toe region and stresses at 40% strain, anisotropy indices, as well as the stored strain energy in the toe and linear region of up to 40% strain were used for statistical significance tests. The main findings of this study are: (1) LV and SPW tissues have relatively shorter toe regions of 10–15% strain as compared to RV tissue, whose toe region extends up to twice as much as that; (2) LV tissues have a higher strain energy storage in the linear region despite being lower in stiffness than the RV; and (3) the SPW has the highest strain energy storage along both directions, which might be directly related to its high level of anisotropy. These findings, though for a specific animal species at similar age and around the same body mass, emphasise the importance of the application of wall-specific material parameters to obtain accurate ventricular hyperelastic models. The findings further enhance our understanding of the desired mechanical behaviour of the different ventricle walls. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanics of Biological Tissues and Biomaterials)
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Review

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22 pages, 1602 KiB  
Review
Human Cartilage Biomechanics: Experimental and Theoretical Approaches towards the Identification of Mechanical Properties in Healthy and Osteoarthritic Conditions
by Elisa Belluzzi, Silvia Todros, Assunta Pozzuoli, Pietro Ruggieri, Emanuele Luigi Carniel and Alice Berardo
Processes 2023, 11(4), 1014; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11041014 - 27 Mar 2023
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3431
Abstract
Articular cartilage is a complex connective tissue with the fundamental functions of load bearing, shock absorption and lubrication in joints. However, traumatic events, aging and degenerative pathologies may affect its structural integrity and function, causing pain and long-term disability. Osteoarthritis represents a health [...] Read more.
Articular cartilage is a complex connective tissue with the fundamental functions of load bearing, shock absorption and lubrication in joints. However, traumatic events, aging and degenerative pathologies may affect its structural integrity and function, causing pain and long-term disability. Osteoarthritis represents a health issue, which concerns an increasing number of people worldwide. Moreover, it has been observed that this pathology also affects the mechanical behavior of the articular cartilage. To better understand this correlation, the here proposed review analyzes the physiological aspects that influence cartilage microstructure and biomechanics, with a special focus on the pathological changes caused by osteoarthritis. Particularly, the experimental data on human articular cartilage are presented with reference to different techniques adopted for mechanical testing and the related theoretical mechanical models usually applied to articular cartilage are briefly discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanics of Biological Tissues and Biomaterials)
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20 pages, 1502 KiB  
Review
Mechanical Properties of Animal Tendons: A Review and Comparative Study for the Identification of the Most Suitable Human Tendon Surrogates
by Vito Burgio, Marco Civera, Mariana Rodriguez Reinoso, Elena Pizzolante, Simona Prezioso, Andrea Bertuglia and Cecilia Surace
Processes 2022, 10(3), 485; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr10030485 - 28 Feb 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3936
Abstract
The mechanical response of a tendon to load is strictly related to its complex and highly organized hierarchical structure, which ranges from the nano- to macroscale. In a broader context, the mechanical properties of tendons during tensile tests are affected by several distinct [...] Read more.
The mechanical response of a tendon to load is strictly related to its complex and highly organized hierarchical structure, which ranges from the nano- to macroscale. In a broader context, the mechanical properties of tendons during tensile tests are affected by several distinct factors, due in part to tendon nature (anatomical site, age, training, injury, etc.) but also depending on the experimental setup and settings. This work aimed to present a systematic review of the mechanical properties of tendons reported in the scientific literature by considering different anatomical regions in humans and several animal species (horse, cow, swine, sheep, rabbit, dog, rat, mouse, and foal). This study was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method. The literature research was conducted via Google Scholar, PubMed, PicoPolito (Politecnico di Torino’s online catalogue), and Science Direct. Sixty studies were selected and analyzed. The structural and mechanical properties described in different animal species were reported and summarized in tables. Only the results from studies reporting the strain rate parameter were considered for the comparison with human tendons, as they were deemed more reliable. Our findings showed similarities between animal and human tendons that should be considered in biomechanical evaluation. An additional analysis of the effects of different strain rates showed the influence of this parameter. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanics of Biological Tissues and Biomaterials)
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