Biological Materials Science: Biological Materials Science II
Sponsored by: TMS Functional Materials Division, TMS Structural Materials Division, TMS: Biomaterials Committee
Program Organizers: David Restrepo, University of Texas at San Antonio; Steven Naleway, University of Utah; Jing Du, Pennsylvania State University; Ning Zhang, Baylor University
Wednesday 2:00 PM
March 17, 2021
Room: RM 12
Location: TMS2021 Virtual
Session Chair: Jing Du, Penn State University; Ning Zhang, The University of Alabama
2:00 PM Invited
Cancer Testbed for Breast and Prostate Cancer Bone Metastasis: Kalpana Katti1; Haneesh Jasuja1; Sumanta Kar1; Dinesh Katti1; 1North Dakota State University
Worldwide about 3.4M cases of breast and prostate cancer are reported each year resulting in about a million deaths. More than 90% of deaths are attributed to metastasis, the process of relocation of cancer to a remote site which is bone for the two cancers. We have developed biomimetic in vitro bone using nanoclay scaffolds using a specially designed bioreactor and have used this bone scaffold to generate human bone metastatic breast and prostate cancer tumors. The novel metastatic cancer testbed is used to screen novel drugs and develop new biomarkers of metastasis for which both commercial and patient derived cell lines are used. Novel nanomechanical, IR and RAMAN spectroscopic markers for progression of metastasis are also developed. We also report role of cancer cells on the osteogenesis of bone which has important ramifications on the bone stabilizing therapies that are often administered to bone metastasis patients.
2:30 PM
Conformational Transition of G-Actin Subunits Controls the Deformation Behavior of Actin Filament: Sharad Jaswandkar1; Kalpana Kattti1; Dinesh Katti1; 1North Dakota State University
Actin filaments (F-actins) are filamentous intracellular proteins present in eukaryotic cells, known for regulating cellular functions including muscle contraction, cell-motility, cell-division, cell-movement, cell-signaling, and formation of cell-junctions. In actin assembly dynamics, actin filaments are severed constitutively by an essential regulatory protein; ADF/Cofilin. Several studies report mechanical properties of F-actins, however, the fundamental mechanisms governing F-actin response to deformation are unknown. Here, we present an in-depth analysis of the F-actin deformation using steered-molecular-dynamics (SMD) simulations. Our findings demonstrate that F-actin deformation response is regulated by the pattern of dissociation of conformational locks at intra-strand and inter-strand G-actin interfaces. F-actin elongation enabled salt bridge formation at the inter-strand interfaces improves the G-actin-G-actin bond strength. Furthermore, we report an inter-strand serrated locking pattern between G-actin subunits, restricting their relative movement, and enabling ability of F-Actin to resist deformation. We also observe that ADF/Cofilin causes structural transmutations in F-actin, thus altering its physical properties.
2:50 PM
Nanotechnology Enhanced Novel Bioresorbable Zn Alloy Implant for Short Bowel Syndrome Treatment: Jingke Liu1; Zeyi Guan1; Yuxin Zeng1; Chase Linsley1; James Dunn2; Bejamin Wu1; Xiaochun Li1; 1University of California, Los Angeles; 2Stanford University School of Medicine
Short Bowel Syndrome (SBS) is a calamitous genetic disease that affects thousands of lives every year. Patients diagnosed with SBS have malabsorption and are deprived of the ability to absorb nutrition normally. Recently, a novel treatment method is developed by researchers, which uses endoscopically inserted compression springs to lengthen the diseased small intestines. However, the springs currently under development are not biodegradable. Zinc, as a recent popular biodegradable material with suitable corrosion rate and biocompatibility, poses as a promising candidate material for this application. However, zinc lacks the mechanical strength (weak yield strength and low Young’s modulus) to be employed as effective spring devices. In this study, we successfully designed and fabricated a biodegradable Zn-based alloy nanocomposite device with enhanced and tunable mechanical strengths, as well as fixture structures to meet within vivo animal testing requirements of spring devices.
3:10 PM
Novel Zn-Fe-Si Alloy as Biodegradable Stent Material: Yuxin Zeng1; Zeyi Guan1; Jingke Liu1; Xiaochun Li1; 1UCLA
Bioresorbable stents are an essential application for treatment of coronary artery disease. Among all material candidates, zinc alloys show a great potential because of their great biocompatibility. However, most research fail to keep the balance among strength, ductility, biocompatibility, and corrosion rate. Some ternary systems have been developed to achieve high strength by using nano-size intermetallic phases, but the biocompatibility of the nanoparticles is still debatable. In this paper, a new ternary system zinc-iron-silicon (Zn-Fe-Si) is developed as a novel alloy system for bioresorbable cardiovascular stents. Molten-salt-assisted stir casting is used to fabricate the material. The microstructure, mechanical properties and degradability are studied. Results demonstrated that the in-situ formed Fe-Si nanophase helps maintaining the ductility of the material as well as a favorable corrosion rate. This work suggested that this Zn-Fe-Si ternary system has a great potential and further investigation is much needed to develop desirable zinc alloy stents.
3:30 PM Invited
Investigating the Remodeling of the Cellular and Collagen Tissue Structures of the Optic Nerve Head in Mouse Models of Glaucoma: Thao Nguyen1; 1Johns Hopkins University
Glaucoma is a blinding disease characterized by progressive damage of retinal ganglion cell axons at the level of the lamina cribrosa in the optic nerve head (ONH). We hypothesize that a chronic elevation in the intraocular pressure cause the tissues of the ONH to remodel in ways that are detrimental to the physiological support of the axons leading to axonal dysfunction and death In this talk, I will describe our efforts to characterize the collagen structure and mechanical behavior of the peripapillary sclera and the astrocytic lamina of mouse eyes using advanced x-ray scattering, optical imaging, and digital image/volume correlation methods. We also developed image processing algorithms to characterize the structure of the collagen fibers in the sclera and astrocytic network in the lamina. Our findings suggest a complicated interplay between the remodeling of the cellular and extracellular tissues of the ONH to recover strain homeostasis in the lamina cribrosa.
4:00 PM Invited
Biomineralized Low-density Structural Materials: Ling Li1; 1Virginia Polytechnic Institute
While many current cellular solids or foams are based on metallic and polymeric materials, ceramic foams are often used for non-structural applications, such as filtration, catalysis, insulation, etc. The major limitation of using ceramic foams as structural components are their brittleness and flaw sensitivity. In this talk, I will present our ongoing work in elucidating the structural design principles in natural ceramic cellular solids from a variety of model systems, particularly echinoderm stereom, cuttlefish bone, and sponges. These structures are characterized by their highly mineralized porous morphology, yet exhibiting remarkable damage tolerance, in stark contrast to synthetic ceramic foams. We utilize a combinatorial approach by integrating quantitative 3D structural analysis, 4D mechanical analysis, theoretical and mechanical modeling to establish the structure-property relationship for these biological materials. The structural design strategies to overcome the intrinsic brittleness of porous ceramics learned from these model systems could inspire novel lightweight ceramic cellular solids.
4:30 PM
Euplectella Aspergillum: Multiscale Structural Characterization, Quantification and Micromechanical Properties: Swapnil Morankar1; Arun Singaravelu1; Sridhar Niverty1; Jason Williams2; Yash Mistry2; Clint Penick3; Dhruv Bhate2; Nikhilesh Chawla1; 1Purdue University; 2Arizona State University; 3Kennesaw State University
Many biological materials exhibit unique structures and lattice designs that can be utilized to develop next generation lightweight structural materials. A deep-sea sponge, the Venus Flower Basket (Euplectella aspergillum), is one such example. Its hierarchical structure makes it stiff, tough and damage tolerant, despite being made up of glassy silica. In order to understand the structure of E. aspergillum, a unique correlative microscopy-based approach was used. Lab scale X-ray tomography was used to investigate the structural assembly at multiple length scales and to extract key structural parameters (lattice structure, cell size, thickness of cell edges, etc.). An algorithm was developed to virtually unwrap the cylindrical skeletal wall of E. aspergillum (three-dimensional to two-dimensional). Scanning electron microscopy, nanoindentation, and tensile testing of fibers were used to characterize the nanoscale structural and micromechanical behavior of individual fibers and will be discussed.
4:50 PM
Freeze Casting of Bioinspired Materials with Extrinsic Control Techniques: Steven Naleway1; Isaac Nelson2; Tony Yin1; Debora Lyn Porter1; Josh Fernquist1; Josh Alexander1; Max Mroz1; Paul Wadsworth1; 1University of Utah; 2Sandia National Lab
Freeze casting is a bioinspired technique for the fabrication of tailored, porous ceramic materials with structuring down to the nanoscale. Mimetic of the growth of mammalian bone and other biomaterials where biopolymers template the deposit of biominerals to create complex composites, freeze casting employs a template of growing ice crystals to create a complex porous microstructure in any ceramic. We propose that this bioinspired technique can be controlled through either intrinsic (those that modify from within by altering the constituents) or extrinsic (those that apply external forces or templates) means. Through these classifications, examples of extrinsic (through energized external fields) freeze cast, bioinspired structures will be discussed with a focus on providing advanced control of the final material structure and properties. Applications in biomedical and filtration technologies will be discussed.
5:10 PM
Employing Electric Field in the Fabrication of Directionally Porous Ice-templated Ceramics: Dipankar Ghosh1; Sashanka Akurati1; Diego Terrones1; Shizhi Qian1; Bharath Gundrati1; 1Old Dominion University
Bioinspired directionally porous ceramics are potential for structural and functional applications. Ice-templating technique enables the fabrication of directionally porous materials and significant interest exists in using external energized fields for manipulation of ceramic particles and templated structures. Among the various energized fields, the advantage of electric field is that ceramic particles in aqueous media can directly respond to the applied field and ceramic suspensions of different concentrations can be utilized. However, the progress in using electric fields in the fabrication of ice-templated ceramics has been limited. In this presentation, we will discuss how electric fields can be uniquely combined with the ice-templating technique to further advanced the technique for the fabrication of bioinspired structures. Our preliminary results show that using electric field, templated structure can be uniquely tailored and mechanical properties can be significantly improved. We will also discuss the role of different variables in tailoring microstructure and mechanical properties.