Tilman GrünewaldScientist
TexTOM (Horizon Europe - ERC StG 101041871)
X-ray texture tomography as a tool to enable, multi-scale, in-situ imaging of the enthesis, a biological hinge between bone and tendon
Hierarchical structures are present in many biological materials such as enthesis and one key feature is that their nanostructural organization and crystallographic texture is important for their mechanical properties. Resolving the local structure and texture spatially while keeping a large field of view is an unsolved problem.
Tilman Grünewald, researcher at the Institut Fresnel in Marseille and ERC laureate will tackle this by introducing texture tomography, a new 3D x-ray diffraction imaging method to be employed at synchrotron radiation facilities. With his grant, he will carry out experiments to understand the structure of the enthesis, the biological connection between tendon and bone, which is often involved in orthopedic injuries.
These experiments will enable him and his collaborators at the Institut des Sciences du Mouvement to couple the hierarchical structure with the mechanical behaviour of the enthesis and develop a micromechanical model.
“I have been using x-rays to understand the nanostructure of biomineralized tissues for some time now, but the technical limitations have stopped us from creating a complete picture of these complex materials, let alone characterize them under in-situ mechanical deformation” explains Tilman Grünewald, principal investigator of the TexTOM project. He continues: “The advent of 4th generation synchrotron sources such as the ESRF in Grenoble, however has changed this completely and it will allow the researchers to understand the behavior of complex, biological tissues like the enthesis under in-situ deformation. I hope that my research allows me to shed light on the fascinating behavior of biomaterials and use the texture tomography technique to understand other technical materials.”
- 1Aix-Marseille Université/CNRS/Centrale Marseille