Effect of testing temperature on the nanostructural response of tendon to tensile mechanical overload.

Despite many in vitro mechanical experiments of tendon being conducted at room temperature, few assessments have been made to determine how the structural response of tendon to mechanical overload may vary with ambient temperature. We explored whether damage to the collagen nanostructure of tendon resulting from tensile rupture varies with temperature. Use of bovine tail tendons in combination with NaBH crosslink stabilization treatment allowed us to probe the mechanisms underlying the observed changes.