Contact: Prof.
L.J. Bonassar lb244@cornell.edu
Phone: 255-9381
Office: 218 Upson Hall
Mechanical Evaluation
of Tracheal Tissue
The trachea is composite tube of
connective tissue that serves as the conduit for inhaled air to reach the
lungs. It is composed of rings of
cartilage embedded in a tube of fibrous tissue and on a macroscopic scale, its properties are highly anisotropic. This project involves quantification of
mechanical anisotropies in the trachea and understanding of the way in which
disease states affect tissue mechanics.
This will likely involve collaboration with scientists from the
Respiratory diseases such as
infections, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) involve
acute inflammation of the airways. These
result in the release of chemicals such as interleukin-1 called cytokines. We have previously demonstrated that such
cytokines cause the degradation of cartilage and change its mechanical properties. The goals of this project are to characterize
mechanical anisotropies in the trachea and examine the effect of cytokine
treatment on the mechanical performance of the tissue. Ultimately these studies hope to shed light
on the mechanisms of diseases that result from smoke inhalation injury those
involved in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
Students interested in this
project should have a solid background mechanical testing and some basic
knowledge of biology and chemistry. Tasks for this project include harvest and
preparation of test specimens from horse and sheep trachea, mechanical testing
of tissue samples, and short term culture of tracheal tissues.