Multiscale fracture resistance of human annulus fibrosus and its deterioration with degeneration
- 1McGill University
Abstract
Soft fibrous tissues must resist fracture under repeated loading, yet how degeneration compromises this resistance remains unclear. We investigated human annulus fibrosus using fracture and fatigue testing, proteoglycan depletion, microscopy, and X-ray scattering. Non-degenerate tissue exhibited pronounced fracture anisotropy, with axial toughness nearly fourfold higher than interlamellar delamination toughness. Degeneration reduced axial and radial toughness despite comparatively preserved tensile modulus and strength. Proteoglycan depletion reduced toughness most strongly in radial and delamination loading. Neither tissue state showed measurable macroscopic crack extension over 20,000 cycles at 70% of its respective monotonic failure strain. Nevertheless, fatigue produced localized structural changes, and degenerate tissue exhibited secondary delamination and diffuse collagen damage. X-ray scattering revealed fatigue- and degeneration-dependent changes in collagen periodicity and intermolecular packing. These findings connect tissue fracture resistance to collagen-matrix interactions across scales and inform the design of crack-resistant biomaterials.
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BibTeX
@misc{lan2026multiscale,
title = {{Multiscale fracture resistance of human annulus fibrosus and its deterioration with degeneration}},
author = {X. Lan and N. R. H. Singh and T. Xie and H. Zhu and K. V. Parker and A. Bahmani and Z. Yang and L. Li and Y. Xiao and H. M. Titi and M. Harrington and L. Haglund and J. Li},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.20.759657},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.20.759657v1},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Multiscale fracture resistance of human annulus fibrosus and its deterioration with degeneration
AU - X. Lan
AU - N. R. H. Singh
AU - T. Xie
AU - H. Zhu
AU - K. V. Parker
AU - A. Bahmani
AU - Z. Yang
AU - L. Li
AU - Y. Xiao
AU - H. M. Titi
AU - M. Harrington
AU - L. Haglund
AU - J. Li
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.20.759657
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.20.759657v1
AB - Soft fibrous tissues must resist fracture under repeated loading, yet how degeneration compromises this resistance remains unclear. We investigated human annulus fibrosus using fracture and fatigue testing, proteoglycan depletion, microscopy, and X-ray scattering. Non-degenerate tissue exhibited pronounced fracture anisotropy, with axial toughness nearly fourfold higher than interlamellar delamination toughness. Degeneration reduced axial and radial toughness despite comparatively preserved tensile modulus and strength. Proteoglycan depletion reduced toughness most strongly in radial and delamination loading. Neither tissue state showed measurable macroscopic crack extension over 20,000 cycles at 70% of its respective monotonic failure strain. Nevertheless, fatigue produced localized structural changes, and degenerate tissue exhibited secondary delamination and diffuse collagen damage. X-ray scattering revealed fatigue- and degeneration-dependent changes in collagen periodicity and intermolecular packing. These findings connect tissue fracture resistance to collagen-matrix interactions across scales and inform the design of crack-resistant biomaterials.
ER -