University of Pennsylvania Department of Bioengineering Aims/Objective & Hypothesis(es): Quantifying Chicken Bone Decalcification by Mass Section 102 GROUP 1B AIMS:  Determine mass percent of calcium in chicken femur shafts  Quantify percent calcium lost as a function of decalcification time HYPOTHESES:  Calcium lost from total decalcification will account for ~13% of bone mass  The relationship between decalcification and time will follow a logarithmic relationship

University of Pennsylvania Department of Bioengineering Methods, Protocol & Equipment: Pre-lab Week 1.Prepare 5 chicken bones. 2.Place one sample in beaker A containing 20 mL RapidCal and the other sample in beaker B containing the same volume of water. Repeat for all 5 samples 3.Place beakers on agitator for the following week Lab Week 1.Dry and weigh bones from previous week 2.Prepare 25 chicken bones to make 50 samples (strip, cut, label A or B) 3.Take initial wet masses 4.Place samples into respective beakers, start timer 5.At t = 0, 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes respectively, removed paired samples, dry in oven, and take final masses

University of Pennsylvania Department of Bioengineering Proposed Results/Findings/Deliverables: 1) Pre-week bones/ In-lab bones Results: Two groups: 1) Bones in decalcifier; 2) Bones in DI H 2 O Values of % mass loss due to calcium loss = 100% * {final dry weight of bone in DI H 2 O - final dry weight decalcified bone} initial wet mass (2) initial wet mass (1) 2) Findings: Table Compile table % mass loss due to mineral detraction after: a) full week, b) 0 min, c) 5 min, d) 15 min, e) 30 min, f) 60 min Reasoning for timing : Expectation of logarithmic % calcium mass loss Compare b-f to a to determine % total calcium lost at time x = % mass loss due to calcium loss (at time x) % mass loss due to calcium loss (full week) 3) Deliverables: Further Use of Pilot Study Data A table of values relating calcium loss to time soaked in decalcifier for use in studies dealing with bone fracture strength, bone composition, etc.

University of Pennsylvania Department of Bioengineering Potential Pitfalls: 1. Bone piece dimensions not constant 2. Possibly too many bone samples to handle 3. Bone drying period may prove insufficient 4. Decalcifying for a week could be harmful 5. Underestimate of the total decalcification time

University of Pennsylvania Department of Bioengineering Materials and Budget & Justification: RapidCal™ (BBC Biochemical):1 gallon $ decalcification Autopsy Saw (Miami Medical) $ accurately and precisely cut bones Stainless Steel Mesh Glove (Levitt-Safety) $ protection of the hand used to hold the bone during cutting Polypropylene 100ml Beakers (Fisher Scientific): 100 $ containers for all samples Chicken Legs (Purdue Drumsticks): 4 dozen $18.20 Total $