Publications by authors named "Renwei Mao"
A tough soft-hard interface in the human knee joint driven by multiscale toughening mechanisms.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2025
Joining heterogeneous materials in engineered structures remains a significant challenge due to stress concentration at interfaces, which often leads to unexpected failures. Investigating the complex, multiscale-graded structures found in animal tissue provides valuable insights that can help address this challenge. The human meniscus root-bone interface is an exemplary model, renowned for its exceptional fatigue resistance, toughness, and interfacial adhesion properties throughout its lifespan.
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- The anterior cruciate ligament connects to the femur and tibia through specialized areas called entheses, crucial for joint stability and force transfer.
- Two distinct regions of mineralization in the femoral and tibial entheses were identified, each with different compositions and growth patterns of minerals like hydroxyapatites.
- Proteomic and finite element analysis revealed that the femoral enthesis offers better resistance to shearing, while the tibial enthesis is more effective in tensile resistance, highlighting their unique structural and mechanical characteristics which could inform better treatment for ACL injuries.
Objectives: This study investigated the stage-specific and location-specific deposition and characteristics of minerals in human osteoarthritis (OA) cartilages via multiple nano-analytical technologies.
Methods: Normal and OA cartilages were serially sectioned for micro-CT, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution electron energy loss spectrometry with transmission electron microscopy, nanoindentation and atomic force microscopy to analyse the structural, compositional and mechanical properties of cartilage in OA progression.
Results: We found that OA progressed by both top-down calcification at the joint surface and bottom-up calcification at the osteochondral interface.