Effects of freezing and freeze‐drying on the biomechanical properties of rat bone

Abstract

The effects of various preservation techniques on the biomechanical properties of bone have been investigated in a rat model. Freezing of the specimens to −20°C, −70°C, and −196°C did not adversely affect the strength of long bones tested in torsion or of vertebral bodies tested in compression. Freeze-drying did not markedly affect the compression properties of the vertebral specimens; however, it did produce a significant deleterious reduction in the torsional strength of the long bones.