Acquisition of Ultra High Precision Low Force Material Test System for Micromechanical Measurement of Tissue and Material Constitutive Behavior at Small Length Scales

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High precision measurement of small forces and displacements is increasingly important in mechanical testing of tissues and materials. Microelectronic devices have created a need to understand material constitutive behavior at nanometer length scales. Complementary evaluation of mechanical integrity in connective tissue structural biology research has been limited due to size constraints of tissue available. Advances in instrumentation now provide the means to make direct measurements of mechanical integrity at very small length scales. This award will support the development of novel mechanical test methods to measure the mechanical properties of small pieces of tissue generated in cell culture, bone and soft connective tissues from mice, cartilage slices from larger mammals, miniature biomedical constructs, and tiny volumes of material exhibiting size-scale dependence. Relationships between the size or length scale of tissue and material tested and mechanical properties will be established, and these experiments will provide data to test general theories. The methods developed for specific tissues or materials with specific specimen size constraints will combine to enhance our ability to measure mechanical properties accurately and reliably on small length scales, and will advance our understanding of the mechanical property dependence on these length scales. New instrumentation designed for high precision, ultra-low force measurement will be used to meet these goals. Axial force and torsion are applied to specimens that can be oriented either vertically or horizontally. The high resolution of the system in position accuracy for both axial and rotary motion is suitable for measuring mechanical properties of very small volumes of connective tissue, tissue structures, constructs, and materials. Complete computerized control of the instrumentation will allow any desired test sequence to be performed with a simplified user interface suitable for training users with limited backgrounds in laboratory instrumentation. The ability to make measurements at these length scales on small specimens will complement connective tissue and materials research within several research programs at the University of Connecticut and neighboring institutions. Students and teachers in engineering and biological sciences from the University of Hartford, Trinity College, and the Bioengineering Alliance of Connecticut will participate in research and educational programs aligned with the use of this instrumentation and collateral laboratory equipment to illustrate the fundamental properties of tissues and materials. These students and teachers will help in further developing our participation with The Learning Corridor, a new Hartford campus and program with a focus on science, math, and engineering that spans pre-kindergarten, high school, and adult education.