Biomedical Adhesives

H. G. Craighead, S. W. Turner, R. C Davis, C. James, A. M. Perez, L. Kam, W. Shain, N. J. Turner and G. Banker, Chemical and topographical surface modification for control of central nervous system cell adhesion. Biomedical Microdevices, submitted for publication (1998). 

Fibers for nonwoven fabrics Hot-melt adhesive Biomedical applications... 

Traditional appHcations for latices are adhesives, binders for fibers and particulate matter, protective and decorative coatings (qv), dipped goods, foam, paper coatings, backings for carpet and upholstery, modifiers for bitumens and concrete, and thread and textile modifiers. More recent appHcations include biomedical appHcations as protein immobilizers, visual detectors in immunoassays (qv), as release agents, in electronic appHcations as photoresists for circuit boards, in batteries (qv), conductive paint, copy machines, and as key components in molecular electronic devices. 

In numerous applications of polymeric materials multilayers of films are used. This practice is found in microelectronic, aeronautical, and biomedical applications to name a few. Developing good adhesion between these layers requires interdiffusion of the molecules at the interfaces between the layers over size scales comparable to the molecular diameter (tens of nm). In addition, these interfaces are buried within the specimen. Aside from this practical aspect, interdififlision over short distances holds the key for critically evaluating current theories of polymer difllision. Theories of polymer interdiffusion predict specific shapes for the concentration profile of segments across the interface as a function of time. Interdiffiision studies on bilayered specimen comprised of a layer of polystyrene (PS) on a layer of perdeuterated (PS) d-PS, can be used as a model system that will capture the fundamental physics of the problem. Initially, the bilayer will have a sharp interface, which upon annealing will broaden with time. 

Microporous and microfibrous surfaces on metals are increasingly used in biomedical applications. A recent review by Wen et al. [60] identified advantages over metals with smooth surfaces which included early better adhesion of biomolecules and cells and firmer fixation of bone or connective tissue. 

Acid-base (AB) cements have been known since the mid 19th century. They are formed by the interaction of an acid and a base, a reaction which yields a cementitious salt hydrogel (Wilson, 1978) and offers an alternative route to that of polymerization for the formation of macro-molecular materials. They are quick-setting materials, some of which have unusual properties for cements, such as adhesion and translucency. They find diverse applications, ranging from the biomedical to the industrial. 

Oyane, A., Uchida, M. and Ito, A. (2005) Laminin-apatite composite coating to enhance cell adhesion to ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, 72A, 168-174. 

Dendritic and Hyperbranched Glycoconjugates as Biomedical Anti-Adhesion Agents... 

Artificial materials designed for the biomedical use should be biocompatible, i.e. free of adverse effects on cells and tissues, such as cytotoxicity, immimogenicity, mutagenicity and carcinogenicity. Biocompatible materials can be constructed as bioinert, i.e. not allowing adsorption of proteins and adhesion of... 

Some new materials perspective for advanced biomedical technologies, especially carbon nanoparticles like fullerenes, are potentially mutagenic, carcinogenic and immunogenic [16,65], Therefore, standard tests of the morphological transformation of Syrian hamster embryonic cells in cultures on these materials (described in detail by [68,69]) can be performed. Immune activation of bone and vascular cells on the materials can be estimated by increased concentration of immunoglobulin and selectin adhesion molecules (ICAM-1, VCAM-1, ELAM-1), which bind cells of the immune system [15,16,18,19,23], as well as by the production of cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha or interleukins beta [55],... 

Finally, for practical reasons it is useful to classify polymeric materials according to where and how they are employed. A common subdivision is that into structural polymers and functional polymers. Structural polymers are characterized by - and are used because of - their good mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties. Hence, they are primarily used as construction materials in addition to or in place of metals, ceramics, or wood in applications like plastics, fibers, films, elastomers, foams, paints, and adhesives. Functional polymers, in contrast, have completely different property profiles, for example, special electrical, optical, or biological properties. They can assume specific chemical or physical functions in devices for microelectronic, biomedical applications, analytics, synthesis, cosmetics, or hygiene. 

Finally, biomedical applications aiming at controlled protein adsorption and cell adhesion on iniferter-driven surface graft architectures, by which a high-throughput screening of biocompatibility can be materialized, are presented. 

This contribution will provide a review of polylectrolytes as biomaterials, with emphasis on recent developments. The first section will provide an overview of methods of synthesizing polyelectrolytes in the structures that are most commonly employed for biomedical applications linear polymers, crosslinked networks, and polymer grafts. In the remaining sections, the salient features of polyelectrolyte thermodynamics and the applications of polyelectrolytes for dental adhesives and restoratives, controlled release devices, polymeric drugs, prodrugs, or adjuvants, and biocompatibilizers will be discussed. These topics have been reviewed in the past, therefore previous reviews are cited and only the recent developments are considered here. 

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