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Nanomechanical Properties of Facial Sutures and Sutural Mineralization Front

Tissue Engineering Laboratory (MC 841), Departments of Orthodontics and Bioengineering, 801 S. Paulina Street, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612-7211, USA;

View larger version (22K): [in a new window]   Figure 1. Schematic diagrams of facial sutures under study and their typical levels of interdigitation. (A) Lateral view of the rabbit skull. MI = the maxillary incisor. PMS: the pre-maxillomaxillary suture. NFS: the nasofrontal suture. ZTS: the zygomaticotemporal suture. Different degrees of sutural interdigitation of the PMS (B), NFS (C), and ZTS (D) are confirmed by quantitative measurements of sutural interdigitation (Table). (B) ZTS diagram showing a typical straight-edge suture. (C) NFS diagram showing a moderately interdigitating suture. (D) PMS diagram showing a highly interdigitating suture. Two dots across each suture represent the locations of nano-indentation in the suture and sutural mineralization front.

View larger version (41K): [in a new window]   Figure 2. Typical topographic images of the ectocranial surface of the 3 facial sutures under study by contact-mode atomic force microscopy. Surface topography of the zygomaticotemporal suture (A), the nasofrontal suture (C), the pre-maxillomaxillary suture (E), and their corresponding sutural mineralization fronts (B,D,F). The ZTS demonstrated a characteristically smooth sutural surface and gradient topographic distribution (A), whereas the NFS (C) and PMS (E) both had robust topographic variations in surface contour. In contrast, the ZTS sutural mineralization front (B) demonstrated notable topography, similar in magnitude to the topography of sutural mineralization fronts of the NFS (D) and PMS (F).

View larger version (14K): [in a new window]   Figure 3. Mechanical properties of facial sutures and sutural mineralization front (SMF). The elastic moduli of the zygomaticotemporal, nasofrontal, and pre-maxillomaxillary sutures (open histograms), and their corresponding SMF (solid histograms). All data presented as means and standard errors, and subjected to multi-group comparison by ANOVA with Bonferroni tests. The elastic moduli of the PMS and its corresponding SMF were significantly higher than those of the ZTS and NFS, and their SMF, respectively. For each suture, the elastic modulus of SMF was significantly higher than its corresponding suture (*p < 0.05). The differences in the elastic moduli between the zygomaticotemporal and nasofrontal sutures were not statistically significant, nor were differences in their corresponding SMF.