The effects of morphological irregularity on the mechanical behavior of interdigitated biological sutures under tension

Lei Liu, Yunyao Jiang, Mary Boyce, Christine Ortiz, Jeffery Baur, Juha Song, Yaning Li

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Irregular interdigitated morphology is prevalent in biological sutures in nature. Suture complexity index has long been recognized as the most important morphological parameter to govern the mechanical properties of biological sutures. However, the suture complexity index alone does not reflect all aspects of suture morphology. The goal of this investigation was to determine that besides suture complexity index, whether the degree of morphological irregularity of biological sutures has influences on the mechanical properties, and if there is any, how to quantify these influences. To explore these issues, theoretical and finite element (FE) suture models with the same suture complexity index but different levels of morphological irregularity were developed. The quasi-static stiffness, strength for damage initiation and post-failure process of irregular sutures were studied. It was shown that for the same suture complexity index, when the level of morphological irregularity increases, the overall strain to failure will increase while tensile stiffness is retained; also, the total energy to fracture increases with a sacrifice in strength to damage initiation. These results reveal that morphological irregularity is another important independent parameter to govern and balance the mechanical properties of biological sutures. Therefore, from the mechanics point of view, the prevalence of irregular suture morphology in nature is a merit, not a defect.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)71-78
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Biomechanics
Volume58
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 14 2017
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Finite element analysis
  • Mechanical model
  • Morphology
  • Suture

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biophysics
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
  • Rehabilitation

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