Interfaces of Polymeric Biomaterials with Living Organisms

9 INTERFACES OF POLYMERIC BIOMATERIALS WITH LIVING ORGANISMS 

Polymeric biomaterials in direct contact with hving tissue have special requirements. AU such materials, of course, must be sterile to prevent infection. They must not cause any ill effects via diffusion of remaining initiator, plasticizer, etc. 

However, different regions of contact between polymeric biomaterials and living tissue have very different local requirements. We shall examine two such materials in this section Bone cement, and blood contacting polymers. 

Bone cements are widely used in surgery. An important example involves hip joint replacement (see Section 11.7.2), where the artificial joint must be sealed to both the femur and the hip, and be able to withstand millions of loading cycles over many years. 

The earliest bone cement was based on poly(methyl methacrylate), introduced around 1960 (107). Now, after more than 40 years, acrylic cements are still the most frequently used method and material for the fixation of total joint prostheses. Important modifications include the replacement of poly (methyl methacrylate) with bisphenol-A-glycidyl methacrylate, bis-GM A, a densely cross-linking material with the structure  

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