Ketie Saralidze

Polymeric Microspheres for Medical Applications

Synthetic polymeric microspheres find application in a wide range of medical applications. Among other applications, microspheres are being used as bulking agents, embolic- or drug-delivery particles. The exact composition of the spheres varies with the application and therefore a large array of materials has been used to produce microspheres. In this review, the relation between microsphere synthesis and application is discussed for a number of microspheres that are used for different treatment strategies.

A highly radiopaque vertebroplasty cement using tetraiodinated o-carborane additive

Bone cements for vertebroplasty must have a much better radiocontrast level than cements for knee or hip arthroplasty. This is generally accomplished by adding a relatively large portion of BaSO(4), although this affects the physical-mechanical and biological properties of the cement. This prompted us to develop an alternative radiopaque cement, on the basis of unique highly radiopaque methacrylic microspheres. These contain iodine in two modalities: (i) covalently linked to the methacrylic polymer, and (ii) as constituent of the stable tetraiodocarborane 8,9,10,12-I(4)-1,2-closo-C(2)B(10)H(8). The total iodine content in these particles exceeded 30% by mass. These radiopaque microspheres as well as the cement made thereof were characterized extensively, e.g., by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray contrast measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, measurements of compressive strength, infrared spectroscopy, and solid state (11)B{(1)H} NMR spectroscopy. Furthermore, the new cement was subjected to several biocompatibility tests in vitro. The results show that the new bone cement fulfills all physico-chemical criteria for use in vertebroplasty. Further data on the cements biocompatibility (in vitro), as well as on the handling parameters and doughviscosity, indicate that this material has a potential to become an alternative to vertebroplasty cements with a high BaSO(4) content. The new cement provides two significant advantages: (i) controlled viscosity in the dough phase, which facilitates precise injection during the vertebroplasty procedure; (ii) excellent structural stability, which precludes leaching of contrast post-implantation.

Design, synthesis, imaging, and biomechanics of a softness-gradient hydrogel nucleus pulposus prosthesis in a canine lumbar spine model

A hydrogel nucleus pulposus prosthesis (NPP) was designed to swell in situ, have intrinsic radiopacity, and restore intervertebral disc height and biomechanical functionality. These features were examined using an ex vivo canine lumbar model. Nine NPPs were implanted in five spines and their visibility was assessed on radiography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The NPPs were visible on all imaging modalities and 8/9 NPPs stayed intact and in situ. Six other NPPs were tested biomechanically in six canine lumbar spines. Removal of the nucleus pulposus (nuclectomy) caused significant changes in biomechanical parameters. After implantation and swelling of the NPP, values were not significantly different from the native state for range of motion (ROM) of flexion-extension (FE) and lateral bending (LB), the neutral zone (NZ) of all motion directions, and the NZ stiffness (NZS) of FE. Biomechanical restoration by the NPP compared with the nuclectomized state was significant for the ROM of FE and axial rotation, the NZ of FE and LB, and the NZS of FE and LB. Disc height was significantly restored and 6/6 NPPs stayed intact and in situ. In conclusion, the NPPs swell in situ, have intrinsic radiopacity and restored disc height and aforementioned biomechanical properties.

Synthesis and characterization of a new vertebroplasty cement based on gold-containing PMMA microspheres

There are a number of drawbacks to incorporating large concentrations of barium sulfate (BaSO4) as the radiopacifier in PMMA-based bone cements for percutaneous vertebroplasty. These include adverse effects on injectability, viscosity profile, setting time, mechanical properties of the cement and bone resorption. We have synthesized a novel cement that is designed to address some of these drawbacks. Its powder includes PMMA microspheres in which gold particles are embedded and its monomer is the same as that used in commercial cements for vertebroplasty. In comparison to one such commercial cement brand, VertaPlex™, the new cement has longer doughing time, longer injection time, higher compressive strength, higher compressive modulus, and is superior in terms of cytotoxicity. For augmentation of fractured fresh-frozen cadaveric vertebral bodies (T6-L5) using simulated vertebroplasty, results for compressive strength and compressive stiffness of the construct and the percentage of the volume of the vertebral body filled by the cement were comparable for the two cements although the radiopacity of the new cement was significantly lower than that for VertaPlex™. The present results indicate that the new cement warrants further study.

Effect of Self-Assembly of Oxalamide Based Organic Compounds on Melt Behavior, Nucleation, and Crystallization of Isotactic Polypropylene

We report on the effect of an aliphatic oxalamide based nucleating agent (OXA3,6) on the melt and crystallization behavior of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) under defined shear conditions. Through polarized optical microscopy, we demonstrate that OXA3,6 self-assembles from the iPP melt into rhombic crystals whereas their size and distribution proved highly dependent on the employed cooling rates. The presence of 0.5 wt % of OXA3,6 in iPP results in a significant suppression in iPP melt viscosity, which could not be explained via molecular modeling. A possible cause for the drop in viscosity in the presence of OXA3,6 is attributed to the interaction (absorption) of high molecular weight iPP chains with the nucleating agent, thereby suppressing their contribution to the viscoelastic response of the melt. This proposed mechanism for the suppression in melt viscosity appears similar to that encountered by the homogeneous distribution of nanoparticles such as CNTs, graphene, and silica. Shear experiments, performed using a slit flow device combined with small-angle X-ray diffraction measurements, indicate that crystallization is significantly enhanced in the presence of OXA3,6 at relatively low shear rates despite its lowered sensitivity to shear. This enhancement in crystallization is attributed to the shear alignment of the rhombic OXA3,6 crystals that provide surface for iPP kebab growth upon cooling. Overall, the suppression in melt viscosity in combination with enhanced nucleation efficiency at low as well as high shear rates makes this self-assembling oxalamide based nucleating agent a promising candidate for fast processing.