Biochemical engineering materials screening and monitoring

Abstract

This work was motivated by the need for a systematic compatibility screen for materials of interest for heart assist devices. A practical polymer screening and monitoring program for biochemical engineering materials was developed. Initial emphasis was placed on screening to measure degradation to low molecular weight, water miscible moieties over simulated in vivo exposure. Infrared spectrographic analysis of the simulated body fluid showed that the level of organic moiety corresponds to general clinical experience. Further confirmation of the technique came from evaluation of control polymers from The University of Texas Drug Research Laboratory. Correlation of results with cell culture viability in the presence of the pseudo body fluid is being carried out.

Mediatory role of interleukin‐6 in α smooth muscle actin induction and myofibroblast formation around silicone tissue expander

“…SE was cut into 1 cm 2 pieces, cleaned thoroughly, and ethylene oxide sterilized. This material was then immersed in 5 mL pseudoextracellular fluid (PECF) and incubated for 60 days at 37°C in an incubator (Memmert Co., Germany). At the end of incubation period, the samples were analyzed for silicon element by inductively coupled plasma–absorption emission spectroscopy (ICP‐AES; Thermo electron IRIS Intrepid II XSP DUO).…”

Degradable Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering - Part II: Responses of Fibroblasts and Macrophages to Linear PHEMA

“…First to be considered is the effect of the implanted material on the individual cells, an aspect perhaps better described by the term 'cytocompatibility', which refers to cytotoxicity and cellular processes such as cell adhesion to materials, cell proliferation, phenotype maintenance and cell differentiation. The fundamental tenets of cytotoxicity assays for the screening of potential polymeric biomaterials have been established some years ago [7][8][9][10] and the current methodologies do not differ essentially. If a polymer is either intrinsically cytotoxic or releases toxic substances following its biodegradation, its use as a biomaterial is unacceptable.…”