Koenders Mieke M J F, Yang Lanti, Wismans Ronnie G, van der Werf Kees O, Reinhardt Dieter P, Daamen Willeke, Bennink Martin L, Dijkstra Pieter J, van Kuppevelt Toin H, Feijen Jan
Department of Biochemistry, Nijmegen Center for Molecular Life Sciences, University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Biomaterials. 2009 May;30(13):2425-32. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2009.01.038. Epub 2009 Feb 13.
Micromechanical properties of single elastic fibers and fibrillin-microfibrils, isolated from equine ligamentum nuchae using chemical and enzymatic methods, were determined with atomic force microscopy (AFM). Young's moduli of single elastic fibers immersed in water, devoid of or containing fibrillin-microfibrils, were determined using bending tests. Bending freely suspended elastic fibers on a micro-channeled substrate by a tip-less AFM cantilever generated a force versus displacement curve from which Young's moduli were calculated. For single elastic fibers, Young's moduli in the range of 0.3-1.5 MPa were determined, values not significantly affected by the presence of fibrillin-microfibrils. To further understand the role of fibrillin-microfibrils in vertebrate elastic fibers, layers of fibrillin-microfibrils were subjected to nano-indentation tests. From the slope of the force versus indentation curves, Young's moduli ranging between 0.56 and 0.74 MPa were calculated. The results suggest that fibrillin-microfibrils are not essential for the mechanical properties of single vertebrate elastic fibers.
采用化学和酶法从马项韧带中分离出单根弹性纤维和原纤维微原纤维，并利用原子力显微镜（AFM）测定其微机械性能。通过弯曲试验测定了浸没在水中、不含或含有原纤维微原纤维的单根弹性纤维的杨氏模量。使用无尖端AFM悬臂在微通道基板上自由弯曲悬浮的弹性纤维，生成力与位移曲线，据此计算杨氏模量。对于单根弹性纤维，测定的杨氏模量范围为0.3 - 1.5 MPa，该值不受原纤维微原纤维存在的显著影响。为了进一步了解原纤维微原纤维在脊椎动物弹性纤维中的作用，对原纤维微原纤维层进行了纳米压痕试验。根据力与压痕曲线的斜率，计算出杨氏模量在0.56至0.74 MPa之间。结果表明，原纤维微原纤维对于单根脊椎动物弹性纤维的机械性能并非必不可少。
