RT journal article
T1 Virtual testing methodology to predict the mechanical behavior of collagen hydrogels from nanoarchitecture
A1 Núñez-Ortega, Elías
A1 Blázquez Carmona, Pablo
A1 Ruiz Mateos, Raquel
A1 Martín Alfonso, José Enrique
A1 Sanz Herrera, José Antonio
A1 Reina Romo, Esther
A2 Ingeniería Mecánica y Diseño Industrial
K1 Collagen-based hydrogels
K1 FIB-SEM
K1 Fiber structures
K1 Homogenization
K1 In silico model
K1 Mechanobiology
K1 Rheology
AB Collagen-based hydrogels are three-dimensional, cross-linked structures capable of mimicking the extracellular fibered matrix of biological tissues, making them particularly well-suited for biomedical applications. These hydrogels typically exhibit highly non-linear mechanical behavior, which strongly depends on their internal nanostructural characteristics - an interconnection that remains poorly understood. The aim of this work is to combine high resolution imaging with a multiscale in silico structural model to virtually reproduce the mechanical behavior of a widely used collagen-based hydrogel, using solely its nanoarchitecture as input. The real fiber structure of the hydrogel was originally quantified at the nanometer scale using state-of-the-art microscopy, specifically, focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM). In silico shear tests were then performedon the reconstructed collagen matrix to compute, through a multiscale approach, its homogenized mechanical response, including the energies and stresses developed by the fibers during the tests. Different samples of the hydrogel were also mechanically characterized by means of rheological tests to fit the model and show the feasibility of the methodology. The in silico simulations successfully captured the detailed mechanical interactions between fibers as well as the experimental non-linear mechanical behavior of the hydrogels. Results also highlight the relevant role of the bending energy throughout the entire range of deformation analyzed. This methodology provides a framework to elucidate the structure-mechanical behavior relationship of fiber network topologies, and can be applied to predict mechanical response of both native tissues and biomaterials based exclusively on their fibered nanostructures.
PB Elsevier
SN 2590-0064
YR 2025
FD 2025-06-09
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/36539
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/36539
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 10-nov-2026