Bone is a composite material consisting of organic and inorganic components that are organized into hierarchical structures to provide load-bearing functions. This paper presents the results of PeakForce Tapping atomic force microscopy (AFM) scans on cut and polished bovine cortical bone specimens that were submerged in water. The elastic modulus map and surface morphology were obtained for various bone hierarchical structures from submillimeter- to submicron-scales. The elastic modulus of osteons (20.51 ± 6.85 GPa) was slightly lower than the interstitial bone (21.87 ± 5.48 GPa); they were both much greater than that of the cement lines (7.49 ± 4.23 GPa). The elastic modulus in the lamella structures varied periodically from higher values in thick sub-lamellae (21.49 ± 6.58 GPa) to the lower values in thin sub-lamellae (9.67 ± 2.69 GPa). The results also show relatively softer mineralized collagen fibril bundle arrays (12.94 ± 2.71 GPa) embedded in harder matrix materials (28.39 ± 5.75 GPa). The variations in the elastic modulus suggest different degrees of mineralization or different fibril orientations. The histograms of elastic modulus indicate the dominating compositions or dominating fibril orientations.

骨是一种复合材料，由有机和无机成分组成，这些有机和无机成分被组织成分层结构以提供承重功能。本文介绍了PeakForce Tapping原子力显微镜（AFM）扫描对浸没在水中的经切割和抛光的牛皮质骨标本的结果。获得了从亚毫米级到亚微米级的各种骨骼层次结构的弹性模量图和表面形态。骨的弹性模量（20.51±6.85 GPa）略低于间质骨（21.87±5.48 GPa）；它们都比水泥线大得多（7.49±4.23 GPa）。薄层结构的弹性模量周期性地变化，从厚的子层的较高值（21.49±6.58 GPa）到薄的子层的较低值（9.67±2.69 GPa）。结果还显示嵌入较硬的基质材料（28.39±5.75 GPa）中的矿化的胶原原纤维束阵列相对较软（12.94±2.71 GPa）。弹性模量的变化表明不同程度的矿化或不同的原纤维取向。弹性模量直方图指示主要成分或主要原纤维取向。