Chemical analysis and performance evaluation of ClearCorrect® aligners as received and after intraoral use: Implications for durability, aesthetics, and patient safety.

Background: Orthodontic treatment with transparent aligners is popular with patients. Any alteration of the plastic material, as subjected to the oral environment, could influence the treatment's durability, the aligner's aesthetic appearance, and the patient's safety.

Purpose: This study concerns the physicochemical properties of ClearCorrect® aligners before and after intraoral use, focusing on transparency, surface topography, leachable, polymer glass transition temperature, and viscoelastic properties.

Performance and safety assessment of materials used in the medical devices destinated for pressure ulcer management.

Pressure ulcers are a significant health problem that affects a large population, especially the elderly and individuals with physical limitations. These injuries cause pain, are difficult to heal, and can be expensive to manage, leading to a negative impact on the quality of life of those affected. This scientific paper provides an overview of medical devices such as support surfaces, dressings, and topical agents for preventing and managing pressure ulcers.

Evolution of the Chronic Venous Leg Ulcer Microenvironment and Its Impact on Medical Devices and Wound Care Therapies.

Studies have reported that the constituents of the wound microenvironment are likely to have critical roles in the degradation and fate of the polymeric matrix and the compounds dissolved in the wound dressing matrix. Thus, chronic wound assessment and the design of effective medical devices and drug products for wound care partly rely on an in-depth understanding of the wound microenvironment. The main aim of this review is to identify and discuss the different stages of chronic wound progression, focusing on the changes in the biochemical composition of the wound microenvironment, with particular attention given to venous leg ulcers (VLUs), as they are one of the most prevalent chronic wound aetiologies.

Impact of lock solutions on the mechanical performance of polyurethane central venous catheters: A comparative study.

The impact of ethanol locks on the mechanical performances of central venous catheters was compared to that of aqueous-based locks. Several mechanical tests were performed to evaluate catheter behavior: kinking radius measurements, burst pressure, and tensile tests. Different polyurethanes were studied to assess the impact of radio-opaque charge and polymer chemical composition on catheter behavior.

Mechanical Performance and Cytotoxicity of an Alginate/Polyacrylamide Bipolymer Network Developed for Medical Applications.

Several hydrogels could be used as scaffolds for tissue engineering and a model of extracellular matrices for biological studies. However, the scope of alginate in medical applications is often severely limited by its mechanical behavior. In the present study, the modification of the mechanical properties of the alginate scaffold is obtained by its combination with polyacrylamide in order to obtain a multifunctional biomaterial.