Osteoporosis is a degenerative bone disease that causes a significant decrease in bone density and quality. It affects 73 million people worldwide and is usually diagnosed at fracture. Under-treatment of the disease can lead to preventable fracture, falls, and death; whereas over-treatment can cause associated negative effects, such as atypical fracture.

The changes to the collagen nano- and micro-structure and the changes in mineral to matrix composition are not fully understood, and these changes are important to better understanding the biomechanics of bone.

Thus, the lumbar vertebrae (LV) 2 and 4 of cyno monkeys that were treated, osteoporotic, or healthy were studied. One group was submitted to Sham surgery, and the rest were ovariectomized (OVX). Two years post-surgery, the monkeys were either treated with Alendronate, a Cathepsin K inhibitor, Denosumab, or left untreated.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) coupled to infrared (IR) spectroscopy was used for topographical imaging and chemical composition characterizations of the LV4. This data provides both structural and chemical data over a length scale that is applicable to the biomechanical properties of bone.