Magnetic Resonance Cryoporometry Analysis of Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) Antler Bone

Deer antler is a unique example of mammalian long bone because it regenerates annually with an extremely rapid rate of growth. This study describes a low-field NMR technique combined with cryoporimetric calibration for the estimation of pore size distribution in antler bone from spin-spin (T2) relaxation data. Pore sizes determined by the NMR method have been compared with the more traditional methods of gas adsorption and mercury intrusion experiments. The NMR method has the advantage of being rapid, non-destructive and noninvasive. It is superior to image analysis because the whole sample is used rather than a cross-section. This technique is particularly useful for the determination of fine pore structure including pore dimensions at the nanometre level and may be applied to other bioceramic materials where pore size and interconnectivity of the pores is important.