This study conducted biomechanical and biocompatibility tests of textiles and textile composites, created using recursive logic to emulate the properties of natural tissue weaves and their intrinsic mechanical stiffness gradients. Two sets of samples were created, first to test feasibility on textile samples designed as periosteum substitutes with elastane fibers mimicking periosteum's endogenous elastin and nylon fibers substituting for collagen, and then on composites comprising other combinations of suture materials before and after sterilization. In the first part, the bulk tensile mechanical stiffness of elastane-nylon textiles were tuned through respective fiber composition and orientation, i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLife is mechanobiological: mechanical stimuli play a pivotal role in the formation of structurally and functionally appropriate body templates through mechanobiologically-driven cellular and tissue re/modeling. The body responds to mechanical stimuli engendered through physical movement in an integrated fashion, internalizing and transferring forces from organ, through tissue and cellular length scales. In the context of rehabilitation and therapeutic outcomes, such mechanical stimuli are referred to as mechanotherapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Nonwoven and textile membranes have been applied both externally and internally to prescribe boundary conditions for medical conditions as diverse as oedema and tissue defects. Incorporation of mechanical gradients in next generation medical membrane design offers great potential to enhance function in a dynamic, physiological context. Yet the gradient properties and resulting mechanical performance of current membranes are not well described.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe are literally the stuff from which our tissue fabrics and their fibers are woven and spun. The arrangement of collagen, elastin and other structural proteins in space and time embodies our tissues and organs with amazing resilience and multifunctional smart properties. For example, the periosteum, a soft tissue sleeve that envelops all nonarticular bony surfaces of the body, comprises an inherently "smart" material that gives hard bones added strength under high impact loads.
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