Atomic scanning of bone problems possible

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Dec. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to analyze intact bone say atomic-level exploration of bone disease and aging is now possible.

"If people think of bone at all --- and they usually don't, until they have a fracture --- they think of it as an inert material," said University of Michigan Professor Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy, who led the research. "But like everything else, bone is also made up of molecules whose behavior is reflected in its structure, toughness and mechanical strength, making bone really exciting in terms of its chemistry and its contribution to health and well-being."

But, Ramamoorthy said, as scientists strive to understand the human body and its diseases in terms of molecular behavior, bone presents a challenge to most analytical techniques. And that challenge might be solved by solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

It is "an ideal tool for exploring what goes on inside bone at nanoscopic resolution," Ramamoorthy said, adding, "It is possible to probe the structure and dynamics of individual molecules that constitute bone without any physical damage or chemical modification."

He said the success of the study makes possible future research into how bone's constituents behave under different conditions.

The research is reported in The Journal of the American Chemical Society.