Section: New Results

Experimental Assessments

Microstructural interpretation of mouse skin mechanics from multiscale characterization

Participant : Jean-Marc Allain [correspondant] .

Skin is a complex, multi-layered organ, with important functions in the protection of the body. The dermis provides structural support to the epidermal barrier, and thus has attracted a large number of mechanical studies. As the dermis is made of a mixture of stiff fibres embedded in a soft non-fibrillar matrix, it is classically considered that its mechanical response is based on an initial alignment of the fibres, followed by the stretching of the aligned fibres. Using a recently developed set-up combining multiphoton microscopy with mechanical assay, we imaged the fibres network evolution during dermis stretching. These observations, combined with a wide set of mechanical tests, allowed us to challenge the classical microstructural interpretation of the mechanical properties of the dermis: we observed a continuous alignment of the collagen fibres along the stretching. All our results can be explained if each fibre contributes by a given stress to the global response. This plastic response is likely due to inner sliding inside each fibre. The non-linear mechanical response is due to structural effects of the fibres network in interaction with the surrounding non-linear matrix. This multiscale interpretation explains our results on genetically-modified mice with a simple alteration of the dermis microstructure. This work has resulted in the publication [27].

Affine kinematics in planar fibrous connective tissues: an experimental investigation

Participants : Jean-Sébastien Affagard, Jean-Marc Allain [correspondant] .

The affine transformation hypothesis is usually adopted in order to link the tissue scale with the fibers scale in structural constitutive models of fibrous tissues. Thanks to the recent advances in imaging techniques, such as multiphoton microscopy, the microstructural behavior and kinematics of fibrous tissues can now be monitored at different stretching within the same sample. Therefore, the validity of the affine hypothesis can be investigated. In this study, the fiber reorientation predicted by the affine assumption is compared with experimental data obtained during mechanical tests on skin and liver capsule coupled with microstructural imaging using multiphoton microscopy. The values of local strains and the collagen fibers orientation measured at increasing loading levels are used to compute a theoretical estimation of the affine reorientation of collagen fibers. The experimentally measured reorientation of collagen fibers during loading could not be successfully reproduced with this simple affine model. It suggests that other phenomena occur in the stretching process of planar fibrous connective tissues, which should be included in structural constitutive modeling approaches. This work has resulted in the publication [22].

Improving the experimental protocol for the identification of skin mechanical behavior

Participants : Jean-Sébastien Affagard, Florent Wijanto, Jean-Marc Allain [correspondant] .

Mechanical properties of the skin, the external organ of the human body, are important for many applications such as surgery or cosmetics. Due to the highly hierarchical structure of the tissue, it is interesting to develop microstructural models that have better predictability and should reduce the consequences of sample variability. However, these models generally include a quite large number of mechanical parameters. Therefore, complex assays are required to achieve a proper identification of the microstructural models. We investigated in this study the best experimental protocol to identify a nonlinear, anisotropic, model of skin behavior, namely, the Holzapfel law, using displacement field and force measurements. This was done through a sensitivity analysis of the different parameters. We determined first the optimal assay, which appears to be a biaxial test with an alternated loading: first a stretch in one direction, then in the perpendicular one, and so on. To further improve the quality of the assay, we also determined the optimal geometry. Interestingly, slightly asymmetric geometries are more adequate than symmetric ones, while being easier to realise. This work has resulted in the publication [13].

How aging impacts skin biomechanics: a multiscale study in mice

Participants : Jean-Sébastien Affagard, Jean-Marc Allain [correspondant] .

Skin aging is a complex process that strongly affects the mechanical behavior of skin. This study aims at deciphering the relationship between age-related changes in dermis mechanical behavior and the underlying changes in dermis microstructure. To that end, we use multiphoton microscopy to monitor the reorganization of dermal collagen during mechanical traction assays in ex vivo skin from young and old mice. The simultaneous variations of a full set of mechanical and microstructural parameters are analyzed in the framework of a multiscale mechanical interpretation. They show consistent results for wild-type mice as well as for genetically-modified mice with modified collagen V synthesis. We mainly observe an increase of the tangent modulus and a lengthening of the heel region in old murine skin from all strains, which is attributed to two different origins that may act together: (i) increased cross-linking of collagen fibers and (ii) loss of water due to proteoglycans deterioration, which impedes inner sliding within these fibers. In contrast, the microstructure reorganization upon stretching shows no age-related difference, which can be attributed to opposite effects of the decrease of collagen content and of the increase of collagen cross-linking in old mice. This work has resulted in the publication [28].

Recent advances in studying single bacteria and biofilm mechanics

Participant : Jean-Marc Allain [correspondant] .

Bacterial biofilms correspond to surface-associated bacterial communities embedded in hydrogel-like matrix, in which high cell density, reduced diffusion and physico-chemical heterogeneity play a protective role and induce novel behaviors. We made a summary of the recent advances on the understanding of how bacterial mechanical properties, from single cell to high-cell density community, determine biofilm three-dimensional growth and eventual dispersion, and we attempt to draw a parallel between these properties and the mechanical properties of other well-studied hydrogels and living systems. This work has resulted in the publication [18].