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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 26: Posters II

BP 26.11: Poster

Thursday, February 28, 2008, 17:00–19:30, Poster A

Nanotomography of Biomaterials — •Stephanie Röper¹, Christian Zeitz², Christian Dietz¹, Nadine Drechsel¹, Anke Bernstein³, Nicolaus Rehse¹, and Robert Magerle¹ — ¹Chemische Physik, TU Chemnitz, D-09107 Chemnitz — ²Experimentalphysik, Universität des Saarlandes, D-66123 Saarbrücken — ³Experimentelle Orthopädie, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, D-06097 Halle/Saale

Biomaterials such as bone and teeth are nanocomposites of proteins and minerals. At the molecular length scale these materials have a stiff inorganic component (hydroxylapatite) that reinforces the soft organic matrix (type I collagen) through a recurring structural motif. To gather information of the nanometer scaled structure of these materials we use nanotomography. For this scanning probe microscopy (SPM) based method the specimen is ablated layer-by-layer by wet chemical etching and imaged with tapping mode SPM after each etching step. In our experiments we focus on cortical human bone (embedded and native) and human teeth. The stepwise etching is done in-situ in the SPM with an automated setup. We will present our latest volume images of human bone and teeth and discuss new concepts for adjusting the imaging parameters to maintain a good imaging quality.