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

在组织和材料的力学测试中，小力和小位移的高精度测量越来越重要。微电子设备创造了一个需要了解材料的本构行为在纳米长度尺度。结缔组织结构生物学研究中机械完整性的补充评估由于可用组织的大小限制而受到限制。仪器的进步现在提供了在非常小的长度尺度上直接测量机械完整性的手段。该奖项将支持开发新的机械测试方法，以测量细胞培养中产生的小块组织、小鼠的骨骼和软结缔组织、大型哺乳动物的软骨切片、微型生物医学结构和具有尺寸依赖性的小体积材料的机械性能。将建立组织和材料的尺寸或长度尺度与力学性能之间的关系，这些实验将为测试一般理论提供数据。针对特定组织或具有特定试样尺寸限制的材料开发的方法将结合起来，增强我们在小长度尺度上准确可靠地测量机械性能的能力，并将推进我们对机械性能依赖于这些长度尺度的理解。为高精度、超低力测量而设计的新仪器将用于实现这些目标。轴向力和扭转作用于可以垂直或水平取向的试样。该系统在轴向和旋转运动的位置精度上的高分辨率适用于测量非常小体积的结缔组织、组织结构、构造和材料的机械性能。仪器的完全计算机化控制将允许任何所需的测试序列通过简化的用户界面进行，适合培训实验室仪器背景有限的用户。在这些长度尺度上对小样本进行测量的能力将补充康涅狄格大学和邻近机构的几个研究项目中的结缔组织和材料研究。来自哈特福德大学、三一学院和康涅狄格生物工程联盟的工程和生物科学专业的学生和教师将参与与使用该仪器和附属实验室设备相一致的研究和教育项目，以说明组织和材料的基本特性。这些学生和老师将帮助我们进一步参与学习走廊，这是一个新的哈特福德校区和项目，重点是科学，数学和工程，涵盖学前教育，高中和成人教育。

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.