A comparative study of early degradation of PLLA and PLGA rods at various sites in rabbit / 生物医学工程学杂志

This study was designed to assess the effect of implantation site and environment on early in vivo degradation behaviors of poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) and poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) copolymer. The rods were implanted at two sites in each of 24 New Zealand White rabbits. The first site was within the suprapatellar bursa of the joint cavities (JC) and the second site was in the opposite condyles of femurs (CF). Three rabbits of each group underwent explantation of rods after 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks. At each interval, measures were taken to evaluate the molecular weight, shear strength, weight loss and thermal properties of PLLA and PLGA. It was found that PLGA degraded slightly faster than PLLA. After 16 weeks, PLLA's initial inherent viscosity of 4.6 decreased to about 3.4 in both implantation sites while that of PLGA decreased from 4.6 to about 2.2. Both PLGA and PLLA showed enough shear strength retention in 16 weeks (> or = 53MPa) within 16 weeks. Autocatalysis mechanism was confirmed by the fact of accelerated weight loss of PLGA after 8 weeks and of PLLA after 12 weeks. The results revealed that PLGA could be a promising candidate material as a replacement of PLLA in internal fixation of bone fractures, and no significant difference of early in vivo degradation behaviors between PLLA and PLGA was observed in regard to different implantation sites in 16 weeks.

Preparation and in vitro characterization of novel hydrophilic poly(D,L-lactide)/poly (ethylene glycol)-poly (lactide) composite scaffolds / 生物医学工程学杂志

A new technique was developed to fabricate PDLLA and PDLLA/PELA composite scaffolds by thermally induced phase separation in combination, with particulate-leaching. Effects of PDLLA/PELA ratio, PEG/PLA ratio and PEG molecular weight on properties of mechanics, degradation behavior and cell toxicity as well as morphological properties were investigated. As the result showed, by thermally induced phase separation/ particulate-leaching, a unique morphology that macropores (100-250 microm) and micropores (5-40 microm)coexisted in the scaffold was obtained. An increase of PEG content or a decrease of PEG molecular weight raised the porosity of the scaffold. A decrease of PDLLA/PELA ratio or an increase of PEG/PLA ratio weakened mechanical properties and accelerated the degradation of the scaffold. PDLLA and PDLLA/PELA scaffolds didn't show cell toxicity. When PDLLA/PELA ratio was 3:1 and PEG5000/PLA ratio was 25:75, the scaffold got a regular, highly interconnected, macro-co-micro porous structure.

Synthesis and characterizations of poly (ethylene glycol)-block-poly (glutamate) / 生物医学工程学杂志

Amine-terminated poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) was prepared by two steps. Firstly, potassium naphthalene was added to a solution of methoxypolyethylene glycol 5,000 in benzene until the solution maintains green in half of an hour, then excess tosylchloride was introduced; secondly, the conversion of the tosylate into an amine was carried out by Gabriel synthesis. The block copolymer poly (ethylene glycol)-co-poly (gamma-benzyl L-glutamate ) could be obtained by ring-opening polymerization of gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate N-carboxy anhydride with amine-terminated PEG as macroinitiator. And the benzyl group could be removed by sodium hydroxide. The product structure was characterized by IR, 1HNMR, GPC. The cisplatin-loaded micelle was observed by transmission electron microscope (TEM). And the block copolymer is expected to be useful as functional materials including carrier systems in drug controlled delivery applications.

Experimental study on the fabrication of bioactive membrane for inducing bone regeneration / 生物医学工程学杂志

The aim of this study was to develop a bioactive membrane for inducing bone regeneration. The membrane was composed of polylactic acid, collagen, recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2). The PLA + collagen + rhBMP-2 membrane was fabricated by solvent-casting and cool-drying. The mechanic properties of this compound membrane were tested. The two surfaces of membrane were observed by SEM. Degradability of PLA was evaluated by SEM observation and molecular weight measure in vitro and in vivo. The compound membranes were implanted in rabbit muscles. The samples were obtained when animals were sacrificed at different periods: 2 weeks, 1, 2, 3, 6 months after surgery. The biodegradability and biocompatibility of the membrane were evaluated. The heterotopic bone inducing activity of BMP was identified. The results indicated that the strength at extension to failure of the compound membrane was 36.4MPa at 2.3% strain. The compound membrane was found bearing active factor on its coarse side, which can induce bone regeneration. After implantation in vivo, the membrane maintained the structure for three months and degraded in 6 months. Based on histological analysis, there was no obvious inflammation. Heterotopic bone was induced. We could conclude that the PLA + collagen + rhBMP-2 membrane is an absorbable compound membrane that possesses good biocompatibility, adequate mechanic properties and excellent property of bone induction. It could be applied as an ideal membrane for inducing bone regeneration.

The study of biocompatibility of super high molecular weight poly D,L-lactic acid implant / 中华口腔医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the biocompatibility of the super high molecular weight poly D,L-lactic acid (SHMW-PDLLA) implant.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The SHMW-PDLLA plates were implanted into the SD-rats between the masseter and ramus of the mandible. The blood specimens were gained at 3, 6, 9, 12 months after the operation. The proteins, electrolyte, enzyme and other indices were tested by use of Beckman automatic biochemical analysis device. The soft tissue specimens around the SHMW-PDLLA plates were gained at 3, 6, 9, 12 months after the operation and the tissue reaction was observed with the pathological and haematological methods.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were not any abnormal findings in the blood after the SHMW-PDLLA plates implanted in the body of SD-rats. The implanted SHMW-PDLLA plates were degraded gradually in 6 to 12 months after the operation. There was not any abnormal tissue reaction found to the soft tissue around the SHMW-PDLLA plates by histological and pathological observations.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The SHMW-PDLLA implant has a good biocompatibility to SD-rats.</p>

Experimental research on degradation and biocompatibility of super-high-molecular-weight poly-DL-lactic acid / 华西口腔医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The super-high-molecular-weight poly-DL-lactic acid (PDLLA), with the molecular weight of 900 kD, is a newly emerging biomaterial and potentially used in the therapy of bone fracture because of its excellent mechanical property. However the biocompatibility of this material has not been reported so far, therefore this experiment was designed to examine whether the super-high-molecular-weight PDLLA was harmful to creatures, when it was implanted in the body of animals for a long period.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The material was prepared in small cuboids, with the size of 1.0 mm x 1.5 mm x 2.0 mm, and these blocks were implanted into the masseteric space of SD rats and, the activity of the SD-rats was monitored continuously. The animals were sacrificed in the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th months after the operation and, the specimens were taken out from the animals. The examination included anatomical, pathological and haematological methods. The data were analyzed with SPSS 8.0.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The wound healed well after the operation. Super-high-molecular-weight PDLLA degraded 6 months after the implantation. In the 3rd month after the operation, a thin fiber membrane around the materials was formed. In the 6th month, the membrane was much thinner than that in the 3rd month and completely disappeared in the 9th month. The pathological examination showed that slightly inflammatory reaction appeared in the tissue around these blocks in the 3rd month, but the inflammatory reactions were gradually remitted in the following 6th, 9th and 12th months. Further, the haematological examination did not show any abnormity during the 12-month observation period.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The super-high-molecular-weight PDLLA can be degrade when it is implanted into the body of creatures, which proves its good biocompatibility.</p>