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Mechanical Characterization and Modeling of Rat Myocardia under the Influence of Epirubicin

Cancer remains a predominant health challenge that is responsible for a significant portion of global morbidity and mortality. Epirubicin (EPI), a chemotherapeutic anti-cancer drug, has shown remarkable efficacy in combating various malignancies. However, it is known to have undesirable side effects...

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Main Author: Alkhaiyat, Abdallah Mahmoud
Format: Thesis
Published: AUC Knowledge Fountain 2026
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access_status_str Open Access
author Alkhaiyat, Abdallah Mahmoud
author_browse Alkhaiyat, Abdallah Mahmoud
author_facet Alkhaiyat, Abdallah Mahmoud
author_sort Alkhaiyat, Abdallah Mahmoud
collection Thesis
description Cancer remains a predominant health challenge that is responsible for a significant portion of global morbidity and mortality. Epirubicin (EPI), a chemotherapeutic anti-cancer drug, has shown remarkable efficacy in combating various malignancies. However, it is known to have undesirable side effects on the heart, collectively referred to as cardiotoxicity. This research investigates the adverse effects of chemotherapy on cardiac contractility through an in vitro examination of the mechanics of healthy and infarcted animal heart tissues. Electrically stimulated slices of rat ventricular tissue were tested using an isometric force measurement tissue bath. The tissue slices were subjected to uniaxial stretching, allowing the measurement of both active and passive tensions at varying preload levels. The uniaxial tension data were utilized to determine the stress-strain response of the tissue material. Subsequently, a hyperelastic constitutive model was fitted to the stress-strain data, providing us with material parameters for both healthy and infarcted cardiac tissues. Additionally, optical flow, a non-contact imaging technique, was employed to measure tissue specimen deformation during contraction. This process computes the deformation gradient of the tissue, ultimately enabling us to derive the full-field strain. The results show statistically significant evidence that EPI reduces the active tension by up to 71.7%. Similarly, there was statistically significant evidence that the passive tension was different between the two groups. Additionally, material calibration revealed that EPI increased the stiffness of the myocardium. Further results indicate a reduction in the magnitude of the myocardial strain after EPI administration. These findings indicate that EPI impairs cardiac contractility substantially, which is quantified by the reduction in active tension and myocardial strain. The observed increase in tissue stiffness, evident by the constitutive modeling, further confirms the notion of compromised contractility of the myocardium.
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institution American University in Cairo (Egypt)
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:35:59.828Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress
publishDate 2026
publishDateRange 2026
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spelling oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-3647 Mechanical Characterization and Modeling of Rat Myocardia under the Influence of Epirubicin Alkhaiyat, Abdallah Mahmoud Cancer remains a predominant health challenge that is responsible for a significant portion of global morbidity and mortality. Epirubicin (EPI), a chemotherapeutic anti-cancer drug, has shown remarkable efficacy in combating various malignancies. However, it is known to have undesirable side effects on the heart, collectively referred to as cardiotoxicity. This research investigates the adverse effects of chemotherapy on cardiac contractility through an in vitro examination of the mechanics of healthy and infarcted animal heart tissues. Electrically stimulated slices of rat ventricular tissue were tested using an isometric force measurement tissue bath. The tissue slices were subjected to uniaxial stretching, allowing the measurement of both active and passive tensions at varying preload levels. The uniaxial tension data were utilized to determine the stress-strain response of the tissue material. Subsequently, a hyperelastic constitutive model was fitted to the stress-strain data, providing us with material parameters for both healthy and infarcted cardiac tissues. Additionally, optical flow, a non-contact imaging technique, was employed to measure tissue specimen deformation during contraction. This process computes the deformation gradient of the tissue, ultimately enabling us to derive the full-field strain. The results show statistically significant evidence that EPI reduces the active tension by up to 71.7%. Similarly, there was statistically significant evidence that the passive tension was different between the two groups. Additionally, material calibration revealed that EPI increased the stiffness of the myocardium. Further results indicate a reduction in the magnitude of the myocardial strain after EPI administration. These findings indicate that EPI impairs cardiac contractility substantially, which is quantified by the reduction in active tension and myocardial strain. The observed increase in tissue stiffness, evident by the constitutive modeling, further confirms the notion of compromised contractility of the myocardium. 2026-01-31T08:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2593 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3647/viewcontent/Abdallah_Mahmoud_Alkhaiyat_MSc_Thesis.pdf Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain Soft Tissue Mechanics Myocardium Epirubicin Chemotherapy Anthracyclines Cardiotoxicity Constitutive Model Hyperelastic In Vitro Mechanical Testing Animal Experimentation and Research Bioimaging and Biomedical Optics Biomechanical Engineering Biomechanics Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Computational Engineering Engineering Mechanical Engineering Mechanics of Materials Medicine and Health Sciences Tissues
spellingShingle Soft Tissue Mechanics
Myocardium
Epirubicin
Chemotherapy
Anthracyclines
Cardiotoxicity
Constitutive Model
Hyperelastic
In Vitro
Mechanical Testing
Animal Experimentation and Research
Bioimaging and Biomedical Optics
Biomechanical Engineering
Biomechanics
Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering
Cardiovascular Diseases
Cardiovascular System
Computational Engineering
Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Mechanics of Materials
Medicine and Health Sciences
Tissues
Alkhaiyat, Abdallah Mahmoud
Mechanical Characterization and Modeling of Rat Myocardia under the Influence of Epirubicin
title Mechanical Characterization and Modeling of Rat Myocardia under the Influence of Epirubicin
title_full Mechanical Characterization and Modeling of Rat Myocardia under the Influence of Epirubicin
title_fullStr Mechanical Characterization and Modeling of Rat Myocardia under the Influence of Epirubicin
title_full_unstemmed Mechanical Characterization and Modeling of Rat Myocardia under the Influence of Epirubicin
title_short Mechanical Characterization and Modeling of Rat Myocardia under the Influence of Epirubicin
title_sort mechanical characterization and modeling of rat myocardia under the influence of epirubicin
topic Soft Tissue Mechanics
Myocardium
Epirubicin
Chemotherapy
Anthracyclines
Cardiotoxicity
Constitutive Model
Hyperelastic
In Vitro
Mechanical Testing
Animal Experimentation and Research
Bioimaging and Biomedical Optics
Biomechanical Engineering
Biomechanics
Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering
Cardiovascular Diseases
Cardiovascular System
Computational Engineering
Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Mechanics of Materials
Medicine and Health Sciences
Tissues
url https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2593
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3647/viewcontent/Abdallah_Mahmoud_Alkhaiyat_MSc_Thesis.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT alkhaiyatabdallahmahmoud mechanicalcharacterizationandmodelingofratmyocardiaundertheinfluenceofepirubicin