Electrocautery-induced molten metal particle generation from total joint replacements: Morphology and chemistry.

Electrosurgical techniques are used during surgery to cauterize, and their damaging effects have primarily been documented in terms of tissue necrosis, charring, and localized heat accumulation. Metallic implants as well as the surgical blade can experience incidental electrosurgical current arcing that results in the generation and transfer of melted metallic particles. This work examines the composition, particle size distribution, and chemical state of the melted alloy surfaces and particles produced in vitro.

Sensing Localized Surface Corrosion Damage of CoCrMo Alloys and Modular Tapers of Total Hip Retrievals Using Nearfield Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy.

Wear and corrosion damage of biomedical alloys alters the structure and electrochemical properties of the surface heterogeneously. It was hypothesized that local regions on the same surface systematically differ from one another in terms of their impedance characteristics. To test this hypothesis, CoCrMo disks exposed to electrosurgical and inflammatory-species-driven damage were characterized using a localized impedance technique, nearfield electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (NEIS), to assess point-specific surface integrity in response to applied damage.

Synthetic periprosthetic synovial fluid development for in vitro cell-tribocorrosion testing using the Taguchi array approach.

Synovial fluid is dynamic in vivo with biological components changing in ratio and size depending on the health of the joint space, making it difficult to model in vitro. Previous efforts to develop synthetic synovial fluid have typically focused on single organic-tribological interactions with implant surfaces, thus ignoring interplay between multiple solution components. Using a Taguchi orthogonal array, we were able to isolate the individual effects of five independent synovial fluid composition variables: ratios of (1) hyaluronic acid to phospholipids (HA:PL) and (2) albumin to globulin (A:G), and concentrations of (3) hydrogen peroxide (H O ), (4) cobalt (Co ) and (5) chromium (Cr ) ions on macrophage viability and reduced glutathione production, local solution pH and the comprehensive CoCrMo alloy electrochemical response.

A fluorescent approach for detecting and measuring reduction reaction byproducts near cathodically-biased metallic surfaces: Reactive oxygen species production and quantification.

During tribocorrosion of biomedical alloys, potentials may shift cathodically across the metal-oxide-electrolyte interface resulting in the increased reduction of local oxygen and water molecules. The products of reduction are thought to include reactive oxygen species (ROS) as well as hydroxide ions. Using fluorescent probes, developed for labeling intracellular ROS-based hydroxyl radicals (OH·) and hydrogen peroxide (HO), ROS generation due to reduction reactions at cathodically biased CoCrMo alloy surfaces was measured directly.

Electrochemical potential zone of viability on CoCrMo surfaces is affected by cell type: Macrophages under cathodic bias are more resistant to killing.

Electrochemical interactions at the cell-metal interface determine cell viability and influence behavior in response to different electrode potential conditions, specifically cathodic biases. Mechanically assisted crevice corrosion, for example, induces cathodic potentials and the associated electrochemical consequences of increased reduction reactions at the implant surface may affect cell viability in a manner that is different for various cell phenotypes. Monocyte macrophage-like U937 cells were cultured on cobalt-chromium-molybdenum (CoCrMo) metal surfaces in vitro for 24 h to assess cell behavior in response to sustained applied voltages.

Enhancing mechanical properties of an injectable two-solution acrylic bone cement using a difunctional crosslinker.

Two-solution bone cements modified with ethylene glycol-dimethacrylate (EG-DMA) as a crosslinker have been developed as an attempt to further improve the mechanical properties of acrylic bone cement. The result of this study shows that EG-DMA can increase the mechanical properties and fractional monomer conversion while preserving the thermal characteristics. The strength and bending modulus increase with EG-DMA concentrations at 5-10 vol % EG-DMA.