X-Ray Phase Nanotomography Resolves the 3D Human Bone Ultrastructure
Résumé
Bone strength and failure are increasingly thought to be due to ultrastructural properties, such as the morphology of the
lacuno-canalicular network, the collagen fiber orientation and the mineralization on the nanoscale. However, these
properties have not been studied in 3D so far. Here we report the investigation of the human bone ultrastructure with X-ray
phase nanotomography, which now provides the required sensitivity, spatial resolution and field of view. The 3D
organization of the lacuno-canalicular network is studied in detail over several cells in osteonal and interstitial tissue.
Nanoscale density variations are revealed and show that the cement line separating these tissues is hypermineralized.
Finally, we show that the collagen fibers are organized as a twisted plywood structure in 3D