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Studying Variations in Bone Composition at Nano-Scale Resolution: A Preliminary Report

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Abstract

Bone has a hierarchical structure extending from the micrometer to the nanometer scale. We report here the first analysis of non-human primate osteonal bone obtained using a spectrometer coupled to an AFM microscope (AFM-IR), with a resolution of 50–100 nm. Average spectra correspond to those observed with conventional FTIR spectroscopy. The following validated FTIR parameters were calculated based on intensities observed in scans covering ~60 µm from the osteon center: mineral content (1030/1660 cm−1), crystallinity (1030/1020 cm−1), collagen maturity (1660/1690 cm−1), and acid phosphate content (1128/1096 cm−1). A repeating pattern was found in most of these calculated IR parameters corresponding to the reported inter- and intra-lamellar spacing in human bone, indicating that AFM-IR measurements will be able to provide novel compositional information on the variation in bone at the nanometer level.

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Acknowledgments

Data for this study were collected at Anasys Instruments, Santa Barbara, CA. The study was supported by NIH grant AR041325. The authors are grateful to Dr. Judah Gerstein for editing the manuscript.

Conflict of Interest

Curt Marcott is a scientific advisor for Anasys Instruments; Qichi Hu is an employee of Anasys Instruments; Samuel Gourion-Arsiquaud and Adele Boskey have no conflicts of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

The animal was from the colony at the Southwest National Primate Research Center/Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SNPRC/SFBR, San Antonio, TX), and all procedures during its life at SNPRC/SFBR were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) in accordance with established guidelines. The IACUC of the Hospital for Special Surgery approved the use of these biopsies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. TRI Princeton, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Samuel Gourion-Arsiquaud

  2. Light Light Solutions, Athens, GA, USA

    Curtis Marcott

  3. Anasys Instruments, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    Qichi Hu

  4. Mineralized Tissue Laboratory, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 E 70th St, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    Adele L. Boskey

Authors
  1. Samuel Gourion-Arsiquaud
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  2. Curtis Marcott
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  3. Qichi Hu
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  4. Adele L. Boskey
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Adele L. Boskey.

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Gourion-Arsiquaud, S., Marcott, C., Hu, Q. et al. Studying Variations in Bone Composition at Nano-Scale Resolution: A Preliminary Report. Calcif Tissue Int 95, 413–418 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-014-9909-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-014-9909-9

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