Bone and dentin consist of hydroxyapatite (HA) nanocrystals deposited on a collagenous  matrix.  This HA is distinct from geologic hydroxylapatite in size, shape, and composition.  To study the spatial variation in the properties of the HA crystals in bones and teeth, we have used the technique of FT-IR microspectroscopy and microspectroscoic imaging.  A series of validated parameters have been described that are related to chemically determined properties.  These parameters have been correlated with tissue mechanical properties, and are being used to describe temporal changes, the effects of matrix proteins on mineral formation, and variations in health and disease. Examples will be presented from murine and non-primate animal models and from studies of normal, osteopenic, and osteoporotic humans treated with antiresorptive agents.

Adele L. Boskey received her B.A. from Barnard College in 1964 and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Boston University in 1970.  Dr. Boskey has been director of the Mineralized Tissue Laboratory at the Hospital for Special Surgery since 1999 where she is the Starr chair in mineralized tissue research and director of the Musculoskeletal Integrity Program.  At  Weill Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences at Cornell University she is a Professor of Biochemistry and Professor in the graduate field of Physiology, Biophysics, and Systems Biology.  She is also a Professor in the Biomedical Engineering Field at Cornell, Ithaca , and an adjunct Professor of Biomedical Engineering at City University of New York.  She became a fellow of the AAAS in 2005, and serves on the scientific advisory board of Isotis, Skelescan, and RPI Bioengineering Department.  A recipient of a  Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health-National Institute of Dental Research in 1975, an Award for Distinguished Research in Orthopedics from the Kappa Delta Sorority in 1979; and an NIH Merit Award as well as the Basic Research in Biological Mineralization Award, International Association for Dental Research in 1994, Dr. Boskey was the first woman president of the Orthopaedic Research Society, and is currently President of the International Conferences on the Chemistry and Biology of Mineralized Tissues. Dr. Boskey’s research is concerned with the mechanisms of biomineralization of bones and teeth.  She was the first to apply the techniques of infrared microspectroscopy and infrared imaging to mineralized tissues, and is now using this technique to gain insights into changes in bone mineral and matrix properties in osteoporosis in the presence and absence of therapeutic interventions.  The author of more than 200 peer reviewed publications, Dr. Boskey is the PI on three NIH R01 awards, and is the PI of a P30 Musculoskeletal Repair and Regeneration Core Center .