09/6 Benchmarking of the mechanical properties of ex-vivo specimens

		Agar probe under the torsional resonator device

This subproject focuses on the mechanical behaviour of the intervertebral disc (IVD) and its tissue engineered equivalent. The contribution of macro-mechanical behaviour to reach target levels in tissue engineering will be investigated.

The intervertebral disc is characterised by high densities of collagen and proteoglycan. A low fluid permeability enables the tissue to carry compressive loads. The complex morphology results in non-homogeneous and anisotropic mechanical properties. Experiments showed the mechanical response of the IVD being nonlinear, time- and charge-dependent.

Typical loading conditions of the IVD in vivo will be determined by finite element simulations. Different constitutive models will be validated using data from experiments on human spine. Novel structure-composition-function constitutive models will be developed and applied for the testing and classification of tissue-engineered constructs (subproject 5)

Tissue engineered constructs will be tested with the torsional resonator experiment ( developed in Co-Me phase 1) and alternative testing techniques. The overall response will be related to the spatial distribution of local mechanical properties. In this manner the main contributors to the mechanical behaviour can be identified and targeted during soft-tissue culturing.