RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To compare some of the physico-chemical properties of osteoporotic and normal femur heads -- a sample study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The organic and inorganic parts of human normal (healthy) (N), osteoporotic (OP) femur heads and were separated using conventional methods and their physico-chemical characteristics were compared using infrared spectroscopy (IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). RESULTS: The data revealed that the extra crosslinking had taken place between the intramolecular alpha chains of collagen of OP bone. This was confirmed by IR spectroscopy and TGA studies. XRD data of the inorganic part of N have shown well-resolved peaks compared to OP revealing the decreased crystallinity in the osteoporotic bone. CONCLUSIONS: The extra intramolecular crosslinking of OP bone collagen molecules increases its fragility. The crystallinity of inorganic phase is less in OP and this may be the reason for its brittleness.