AI Article Synopsis
- Electromechanical reshaping (EMR) is a new method for reshaping cartilage that avoids traditional surgical techniques by using needle electrodes to apply an electrochemical potential.
- This process creates localized low-pH areas within the cartilage, causing stress relaxation and allowing the tissue to change its shape permanently.
- After the treatment, the cartilage returns to its normal pH, restoring its structural properties while maintaining the new shape formed by a supportive jig.
Article Abstract
An alternative to conventional "cut-and-sew" cartilage surgery, electromechanical reshaping (EMR) is a molecular-based modality in which an array of needle electrodes is inserted into cartilage held under mechanical deformation by a jig. Brief (ca. 2 min) application of an electrochemical potential at the water-oxidation limit results in permanent reshaping of the specimen. Highly sulfated glycosaminoglycans within the cartilage matrix provide structural rigidity to the tissue through extensive ionic-bonding networks; this matrix is highly permselective for cations. Our studies indicate that EMR results from electrochemical generation of localized, low-pH gradients within the tissue: fixed negative charges in the proteoglycan matrix are protonated, resulting in chemically induced stress relaxation of the tissue. Re-equilibration to physiological pH restores the fixed negative charges, and yields remodeled cartilage that retains a new shape approximated by the geometry of the reshaping jig.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201600856 | DOI Listing |
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