Biehl Christoph, Thiesse-Kraul Ann-Cathrin, Stötzel Sabine, Alzubi Salsabel, Biehl Lotta, Mülke Matthias, Heiss Christian, El Khassawna Thaqif
Department of Trauma, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
Experimental Trauma Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
Gels. 2024 Jul 14;10(7):461. doi: 10.3390/gels10070461.
Biomechanical tests typically involve bending, compression, or shear stress, while fall tests are less common. The main challenge in performing fall tests is the non-reproducible directionality of bone when tested with soft tissue. Upon removal of the soft tissue, the explanted bone's resistance to impact diminishes. Therefore, ballistic gels can fix specimens in reproducible directions and simulate periosteal soft tissue. However, the use of ballistic gels in biomechanical studies is neither standardized nor widespread. This study aimed to optimize a ballistic gel consistency that mimics the upper thigh muscle in sheep. Our results suggest a standardized and flexible evaluation method by embedding samples in ballistic gel. Compression tests were conducted using cylindrical pieces of gluteal muscle from sheep. Various compositions of agarose and gelatin mixtures were tested to achieve a muscle-like consistency. The muscle-equivalent ballistic gel was found to consist of 29.5% gelatin and 0.35% agarose. Bones remained stable within the ballistic gel setup after freeze-thaw cycles between -20 °C and +20 °C. This method reduces the variability caused by muscle and improves storage quality, allowing for tests to be conducted under consistent conditionsBallistic gels of agarose and gelatin are suitable for bone fracture models. They have muscle-like strength, fix fractures simultaneously, are inexpensive to produce, and can be stored to allow repeated measurements of the same object with changing questions.
生物力学测试通常涉及弯曲、压缩或剪切应力，而跌落测试则不太常见。进行跌落测试的主要挑战在于，当与软组织一起测试时，骨骼的方向性不可重复。去除软组织后，离体骨骼的抗冲击能力会减弱。因此，弹道凝胶可以将标本固定在可重复的方向上，并模拟骨膜软组织。然而，弹道凝胶在生物力学研究中的使用既不规范也不广泛。本研究旨在优化一种模拟绵羊大腿上部肌肉的弹道凝胶稠度。我们的结果表明，通过将样本嵌入弹道凝胶中，可以实现一种标准化且灵活的评估方法。使用绵羊臀肌的圆柱形样本进行压缩测试。测试了各种琼脂糖和明胶混合物的成分，以达到类似肌肉的稠度。发现肌肉等效弹道凝胶由29.5%的明胶和0.35%的琼脂糖组成。在-20°C至+20°C之间进行冻融循环后，骨骼在弹道凝胶装置中保持稳定。这种方法减少了由肌肉引起的变异性，提高了储存质量，使得测试能够在一致的条件下进行。琼脂糖和明胶制成的弹道凝胶适用于骨折模型。它们具有类似肌肉的强度，能同时固定骨折，生产成本低廉，并且可以储存，以便随着问题的变化对同一物体进行重复测量。
