Gyroid and Other Ordered Morphologies in Single-Ion Conducting Polymers and Their Impact on Ion Conductivity.

Controlling the self-assembled nanoscale ionic aggregates in single-ion conducting polymers is a crucial step toward exceptional transport properties. We report a series of precisely segmented polyethylene-like materials containing sulfonate groups (PES23) with Li, Na, Cs, or NBu counterions synthesized from step-growth polymerization. At room temperature, all polymers are semicrystalline with well-defined nanoscale ionic layers separated by 35-38 Å, depending on the cation.

Biomechanical testing of a new plate system for the distal humerus compared to two well-established implants.

Purpose: A biomechanical study was performed to test the hypothesis that a new anatomically preformed, thinner, soft-tissue protecting plate system for distal humeral fractures (Tifix®-hybridplate [HP]) would show comparable results in the quasi-static and dynamic testings compared to two conventional implants: The 3.5-mm reconstruction plate (RP) providing primary stability with normal bone mineral density (BMD), and a multidirectional locking plate (Tifix(®)-plate [P]) which can be used with poor bone quality.

Methods: The Tifix(®)-HP was developed by the working group.