Time-dependent mechanical properties of rat femoral cortical bone by nanoindentation: An age-related study

The aim of this study is to assess the time-dependent mechanical properties of rat femoral cortical bone in a lifespan model from growth to senescence. New nanoindentation protocol was performed to assess the time-dependent mechanical behavior. The experimental data were fitted with an elastic–viscoelastic–plastic–viscoplastic mechanical model allowing the calculus of the mechanical properties. Variation of mechanical response of bone as a function of the strain rate and age were highlighted. The most representative variations of the mechanical properties with age were found to be statistically significant ( P