Bone Abstracts

Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine the chemical information in trabecular bone by Raman spectroscopy in the human distal femur at the microstructural level.

Methods: The subchondral trabeculae were obtained from the middle of medial articular surface of the distal femurs in the two cadavers (one is with and the other is without OA). Raman spectroscopy, a non-destructive technique, was employed to determine the chemical information of the trabecular bones in the distal femurs.

Results: The maximum intensity of the phosphate peak observed between the two groups (The cadavers, one is with and the other is without OA) was significantly different (P=0.017). The maximum intensity of the amide I peak was significantly different between the two groups (P=0.042). Also, among the other chemical and matrix components (Hydroxyproline, Carbonate, Amide III, and CH2), the spectrums showed similar significant differences in the intensity (P=0.027, P=0.014, P=0.012, P=0.029). The area integration were performed to determine disorder in collagen’s secondary structure via amide III (alpha helix/random coil). The value of the alpha helix to random coil band area was significantly different. So the result shows that there was a trend toward higher collagen maturity for the non-OA bone specimens.

Conclusions: The result suggested that OA might affect the chemical compositions of trabecular bone, and such distinctive chemical information.