Carmem Dolores de Sá Catão

Síntese e caracterização de arcabouços de quitosana com agente antineoplásicos

The controlled release system of drugs through the use of polymeric biomaterials compounds associated with antineoplastic action can be employed as an alternative treatment of neoplasms. Thus, this study had as objective the synthesis and characterization of the systems of scaffolds of chitosan loaded with the antineoplastic agent (1,4-naphthoquinone), whose release rate can be controlled by using a crosslinking agent such as sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP). The preparation method consisted of solubilizing the chitosan in acetic acid, drug addition, freezing, lyophilization and crosslinking TPP. All samples were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), degree of swelling and enzymatic biodegradation. SEM showed the formation of interconnected pores with varying shapes and sizes in all the studied structures characterizing the formation of scaffolds. In EDS the presence of chemical elements characteristic of the chemical composition of each material was observed. However, the presence of sodium was observed which can be related to the neutralization agent used. The crosslinking of the scaffolds was confirmed by XRD and EDS which increased the enzymatic degradation rate in vitro in the same sample. The incorporation of the drug was confirmed by XRD, degree of swelling and EDS. Thus, it can be concluded that occurred the formation of crosslinked and non-crosslinked porous scaffolds with morphological and physicochemical properties that can contribute to the carrying of antineoplastic drugs, being possible to control the degradation rate thereof and probable the release of the drug.

Evaluation of the knowledge of pregnant women about the relationship between oral diseases and pregnancy complications

INTRODUCTION: Chronic persistent low-level infection in pregnant women, such as periodontal disease (PD) may impair maternal-fetal unit, since the infectious process induces the release of chemical mediators involved in the process of prematurity. OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge of mothers as regards the relationship between oral diseases and pregnancy complications. METHOD: A cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted with 104 pregnant women indexed in the Primary Care Information System (SIAB), in the Family Health Strategies (FHS), using a structured questionnaire. Data were recorded in SPSS and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, considering a significance level of 5%. RESULT: Most patients (64.4%) were domestic workers, (48.1%) aged 24 to 34 years, (55.8%) showed complete the 2nd grade and incomplete high school education, and (49%) were primiparous. Among the participants, 76% were unaware of the relationship between oral disease, prematurity and giving birth to low birth weight babies. Statistically significant association was found between: educational level and knowledge about prenatal dental care (p = 0.012); since it was shown that 90.4% ignored the existence of this activity and 65.4% had never received information about the care of babys oral hygiene (p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: Most women were unaware of the relationship of PD with prematurity, and showed lack of information about the care of mother and baby oral hygiene, highlighting the need for greater integration between the dental surgeon and other primary care professionals to promote oral health care of pregnant women and reduce the ratio of PD with pregnancy complications.

Nitinol Alloys - Study of Physical and Chemical Application as Biomaterials

The Nitinol is a term which represents the family of nickel and titanium alloys. With the discovery of the extraordinary biocompatibility of these alloys, their implementation has been emphasized in the medical devices and in general dentistry. The characteristics which make these alloys are of interest its superelasticity, shape memory effect and excellent biocompatibility, the latter two characteristics particularly interesting due to the fact that these materials confer the ability to self-expansion or contraction and not presenting rejection the organism. Thus, this study aims to evaluate three NiTi alloys compositions, being one rich in titanium, other poor and the last equiatomic, through tests of physical characterization and surface tension, after different heat treatments. After the results interpretation, it can be seen that the lower percentages by weight of nickel in their products from corrosion was the Nitinol rich in titanium subjected to heat treatment for 24 hours in the oven. Moreover, the same composition present the smallest angle in the test of surface tension.