Compression testing is a basic mechanical test similar in nature to tensile testing. CD BioGlyco has professional instruments and equipment to provide clients with compression testing to characterize the properties of Carbohydrate-Based Biodegradable Materials including sample stress and strain and to determine the qualities such as compressive strength, elastic limit, yield strength, and modulus of elasticity. We are confident to provide clients with professional and comprehensive characterization of polysaccharide-based biodegradable materials.

Mechanical Properties of Polysaccharide-based Biodegradable Materials

Polysaccharide-based biodegradable materials have shown great potential in the fields of biomedical and biopharmaceutical. For example, polysaccharide-based hydrogels have been widely studied for cartilage repair, but these materials usually have soft and highly water-swelling mechanical properties, limiting their clinical application. At present, many strategies have been developed to improve the mechanical properties of hydrogels for tissue engineering, such as combining cell-compatible hydrogels with stronger materials. The mechanical properties of these polysaccharide-based biodegradable materials that can replace cartilage are critical to their ability to withstand the compression and shear loads that are often borne in the joint environment. Therefore, it is very important to evaluate the mechanical properties of these materials for their rational application in the biomedical field.

Fig.1 Photographs of a swollen HA cryogel sample formed at -18°C during the compression test. (Ström, et al., 2015)

Compression Testing of Polysaccharide-based Biodegradable Materials at CD BioGlyco

Compression testing is a very common test method, which is a test to determine the mechanical properties of materials under axial static pressure. We offer compression testing to help clients determine a material's behavior or response under crushing loads as well as its plastic flow behavior and ductile fracture limits. Apart from this, we also help our clients obtain information about the modulus of elasticity, compressive yield point, proportional limit, compressive yield strength, and compressive strength. These data are important for analyzing whether a material is suitable for specific applications or whether it will fail under specific stresses.

Our compression tests are performed on universal testing machines, which are available in a variety of different sizes and force capacities to determine multiple characteristics of the sample. We choose different types of fixtures according to different types of materials and products. Our services include but are not limited to:

• Compression specimen preparation
• Measurement of ultimate compressive strength
  We help our clients measure the compressive load or stress a material can resist before fracturing to determine compressive strength. The test sample form is usually a prism, cube, or cylinder compressed between compression plates.
  
• Characterization of compressive stress-strain properties
  In addition to strength, we help clients characterize the uniaxial stress-strain properties, including elastic limit, compressive modulus of elasticity, proportional limit, compressive yield point, and yield strength. We provide clients with accurate and reliable data by improving the accuracy of strain measurements by controlling the precision of deflection, displacement, or strain sensors that measure sample deformation.
  

Example of Compression Testing

We have assisted our clients in measuring the mechanical properties of macroporous HA cryogels with high mechanical stability and fast response prepared from aqueous hyaluronic acid (HA) solutions using compression tests. We aligned the swollen cryogel at the center of stainless steel compression plates and compressed the sample at a fixed displacement rate to obtain the elastic modulus of the gel and analyze how cryogels withstand high compression.

As an experienced service provider in the field of Characterization of Polysaccharide-based Biodegradable Materials, CD BioGlyco has the strength to provide clients with professional compression testing to evaluate the compressive strength properties of polysaccharide-based materials.

If you are interested in our compression testing services, please don't hesitate to contact us for more details.