Advancements in composition and structural characterization of bone to inform mechanical outcomes and modeling

Advancements in imaging, computing, microscopy, chromatography, spectroscopy, and biological manipulations of animal models have allowed for a more thorough examination of the hierarchical structure and composition of the skeleton. The ability to map cellular and molecular changes to nanoscale chemical composition changes (mineral, collagen cross-links) and structural changes (porosity, lacuno-canalicular network) to whole bone mechanics is at the forefront of an exciting era of discovery. In addition, there is increasing ability to genetically mimic phenotypes of human disease in animal models to study these structural and compositional changes. Combined, these recent developments have increased the ability to understand perturbations at multiple length scales to better realize the structure-function relationship in bone and inform biomechanical models. The intent of this review is to describe the multiple scales at which bone can characterized, highlighting new techniques such that structural, compositional, and biological changes can be incorporated into biomechanical modeling.