In situ tensile testing of human aortas by time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering

• The collagen diffraction patterns of human aortas under uniaxial tensile test conditions have been investigated by synchrotron small- angle X- ray scattering. Using a recently designed tensile testing device the orientation and d- spacing of the collagen fibers in the adventitial layer have been measured in situ with the macroscopic force and sample stretching under physiological conditions. The results show a direct relation between the orientation and extension of the collagen fibers on the nanoscopic level and the macroscopic stress and strain. This is attributed first to a straightening, second to a reorientation of the collagen fibers, and third to an uptake of the increasing loads by the collagen fibers.

Nyckelord

human tissue

biomechanics

artery

small-angle X-ray scattering

collagen

fiber diffraction

tensile testing

human brain arteries

polarized-light microscopy

collagen organization

mechanical-properties

tendon collagen

synchrotron-radiation

distending pressure

fibrillar structure

orientation

diffraction

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)