Bone quality issues an matrix properties in OP cancellous bone.

There is increasing evidence nowadays that diseases or conditions, like osteoporosis (OP), which are conventionally defined in terms of bone quantity/mass, are also associated with concomitant changes at the bone matrix level. The present study examined the composition, density and mineral content of OP cancellous bone at the tissue level and the hardness values at the trabecular level to establish correlations between these variables. The results showed that changes in porosity (Bone volume/Tissue volume) are accompanied by changes in mineral content and in the hardness of individual trabeculae. In other words in OP there are both quantitative and qualitative effects that take place with the progress of this condition.

Infrared intensities of some SiH-containing compounds in the gas-phase.

Infrared intensities measured in the gas-phase are reported for CH3SiH3, CH3SiD3, (CH3)2SiH2, (CH3)2SiD2, (SiH3)2CH2, (SiD3)2CH2, Si2H6, SiH2Cl2 and (SiH3)2O. These are compared with theoretical estimates from HF, MP2 and B3LYP calculations with the 6-311G** basis set. Literature values of nuCH intensities per bond from 18 compounds correlate linearly with the values calculated at MP2 and B3LYP levels: the corresponding HF plot is slightly curved. The new HC(Si) data fit these correlations adequately. In similar plots for SiH stretching intensity, the point for SiH2Cl2 is displaced, especially at the HF level. The lack of relation of nuCH or nuSiH intensity to Mulliken atomic charge points to the effect of varying atomic charge flux in the parameter thetamu/thetar. Anomalies associated with nuSiH intensities influenced by chlorine or OR substitution and previously explained by d(pi)-p(pi) bonding are attributed instead to charge flux variation. For silyl groups, deformation band intensities are roughly additive according to the number of such groups. However, this is not the case for the methyl symmetric deformation bands in methyl and dimethyl silanes.

Material properties of subchondral bone from patients with osteoporosis or osteoarthritis by microindentation testing and electron probe microanalysis.

Cancellous bone from patients with osteoarthritis (OA) has a reduced material density and appears to be undermineralized. It is hypothesized that this will result in a reduction in the mechanical stiffness and strength of the bone matrix. In this study, bone was obtained from superior and inferior sites, subjected to relatively high and low loads, respectively, from human femoral heads retrieved after surgery for osteoporotic hip fracture (OP), or for hip arthroplasty due to OA. Microindentation testing was used to measure the hardness of cancellous bone at various depths from the subchondral bone plate. The elemental composition from immediately adjacent microscopic sites was determined using electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). Overall, OA bone was found to have hardness values that were 7% lower than those from OP bone. Bone from the inferior site was harder than that from the superior in both diseases except in female OP patients. There was no variation with depth below the subchondral plate and no difference between sexes. No difference was found in the composition of the bone from the different disease groups and no correlation was found between hardness and any of the composition measurements. Though only an indirect measurement of stiffness, the reduction in hardness values supports the hypothesis that OA bone has a reduced elastic modulus.

Polarization artefacts of an FTIR microscope and the consequences for intensity measurements on anisotropic materials.

The infrared beam on both the main Nicolet Nexus bench and the attached Spectra-Tech Continuum microscope has been shown to be partially polarized. The degree of polarization is approximately 30%. Although the state of polarization of the infrared beam is of no consequence when measuring the spectra of isotropic materials (gases, liquids), there is a potential problem when considering the spectra of anisotropic materials. Single band intensities are particularly prone to error as small changes in sample thickness or orientation directly affect the intensity. Thickness effects can be overcome by measuring intensity ratios. However, because of the partially polarized nature of the infrared beam, even intensity ratios, illustrated here by the ratio amide I/II of collagen fibres, vary with sample orientation. If overlooked, this effect can be problematic when measuring infrared spectra with an FTIR microscope from samples that are anisotropic or contain anisotropic domains, even though they may appear isotropic on a macroscopic scale. Because dichroic ratios remain unaffected, the intensity ratio from two bands with different transition moments may be used to give a strong indication of the orientation of the sample. This work is illustrated by reference to the FTIR spectra of orientated polyethylene, collagen tape and human trabecular bone.

Characterisation of mineralogical forms of barium and trace heavy metal impurities in commercial barytes by EPMA, XRD and ICP-MS.

This study was carried out to characterise the mineralogical forms of barium and the trace heavy metal impurities in commercial barytes of different origins using electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Qualitative EPMA results show the presence of typically eight different minerals in commercial barytes including barite (BaSO4), barium feldspar, galena (PbS), pyrite (FeS2), sphalerite (ZnS), quartz (SiO2), and silicates, etc. Quantitative EPMA confirms that the barite crystals in the barytes contain some strontium and a little calcium, whereas trace heavy metals occur in the associated minerals. Analysis of aqua regia extracts of barytes samples by ICP-MS has shown the presence of a large number of elements in the associated minerals. Arsenic, copper and zinc concentrations correlate closely in all 10 samples. The findings suggest that barytes is not, as traditionally thought, an inert mineral, but is a potentially toxic substance due to its associated heavy metal impurities, which can be determined by an aqua regia digest without the need for complete dissolution of the barite itself. X-ray powder diffraction was not informative as the complex barite pattern masks the very weak lines from the small amounts of associated minerals.