Test Fixtures for Natural and Artificial Biomaterials

Research of biomaterials requires that the test environment corresponds to actual conditions as much as possible. For this reason, testing in this field is preferably carried out in fluid baths or complete incubators. In this application, cells from bone marrow are applied to a carrier material and cultivated in a liquid nutrient under cyclic mechanical stimulation. For this, an ambient temperature of 37 °C, 100% humidity and cyclic loading (using a ZwickRoell testing machine with an electromechanical actuator) under very low forces are necessary. The load is applied to the specimen via a die integrated in the incubator from above and the specimens immersed in the liquid nutrient are flushed with CO2 or N2 to adjust the pH value. Extensions lie between 30 and 100 μm. The testing of knee replacement material is simulated with bone cells in scaffolds through cyclic loads with a strain greater than =1 µm in-vitro. These bone replacement substrates are used to promote fracture healing or tissue and bone cell growth on implants, preventing the need to remove bone material from other areas of the patient's skeletal structure.