Relationship between the v₂PO₄/amide III ratio assessed by Raman spectroscopy and the calcium content measured by quantitative backscattered electron microscopy in healthy human osteonal bone.

Abstract

Raman microspectroscopy and quantitative backscattered electron imaging (qBEI) of bone are powerful tools to investigate bone material properties. Both methods provide information on the degree of bone matrix mineralization. However, a head-to-head comparison of these outcomes from identical bone areas has not been performed to date. In femoral midshaft cross sections of three women, 99 regions (20×20 μm²) were selected inside osteons and interstitial bone covering a wide range of matrix mineralization. As the focus of this study was only on regions undergoing secondary mineralization, zones exhibiting a distinct gradient in mineral content close to the mineralization front were excluded. The same regions were measured by both methods. We found a linear correlation (R²=0.75) between mineral/matrix as measured by Raman spectroscopy and the wt. %Mineral/(100-wt. %Mineral) as obtained by qBEI, in good agreement with theoretical estimations. The observed deviations of single values from the linear regression line were determined to reflect biological heterogeneities. The data of this study demonstrate the good correspondence between Raman and qBEI outcomes in describing tissue mineralization. The obtained correlation is likely sensitive to changes in bone tissue composition, providing an approach to detect potential deviations from normal bone.