Polymer Processing for Biomedical Purposes

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Processing and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2020) | Viewed by 3754

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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Civil Construction, Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain
Interests: mechanical design; biomedical engineering; mechanical engineering; biomechanical engineering; CAD; machine tools; manufacturing engineering; manufacturing systems; machining; manufacturing process mechanics; mechanical processes; additive manufacturing; industrial engineering; artificial neural networks
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As the size of the aging population around the world grows, new challenges need to be faced not only to boost quality of life but also to reduce medical expenses. Indeed, the demand for more efficient and effective healthcare products has increased. Despite the considerable technological developments in this field, though, synergies between technological and healthcare fields should be reinforced to obtain adequate and competent solutions.

This Special Issue mainly focuses on explaining and showing collaborations and knowledge exchange between the medical and technological sectors in order to find better solutions for the healthcare sector. A strong network of experts would help in establishing channels of communications and knowledge about medical devices specifically in the fields of design, prototyping, manufacturing technologies, and biomaterials, with special attention to polymeric materials. Therefore, a complete range of the medical challenges should be covered and studied by experts in biomaterials, manufacturing technologies, biofabrication and applications.

Several new technologies, such as additive manufacturing (AM), laser processes, and ultrasound molding, among others, allow rapid and efficient production of custom-designed parts for medical purposes. However, optimization of the design and fabrication parameters are usually required to insure desirable manufacturing results. This Special Issue will present the polymer process experiences of various researchers.  

Prof. Joaquim Ciurana
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Polymeric materials
  • Scaffolds
  • Medical device
  • Medical implant
  • Medical prosthesis
  • Manufacturing processes
  • Material processes

Published Papers (1 paper)

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19 pages, 3887 KiB  
Article
Electrospun Bioresorbable Membrane Eluting Chlorhexidine for Dental Implants
by Pierre Pouponneau, Ophélie Perrey, Céline Brunon, Carol Grossiord, Nicolas Courtois, Vincent Salles and Antoine Alves
Polymers 2020, 12(1), 66; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12010066 - 02 Jan 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3345
Abstract
To prevent the uncontrolled development of a pathogenic biofilm around a dental implant, an antimicrobial drug-release electrospun membrane, set up between the implant and the gingival tissue, was developed by taking several technical, industrial and regulatory specifications into account. The membrane formulation is [...] Read more.
To prevent the uncontrolled development of a pathogenic biofilm around a dental implant, an antimicrobial drug-release electrospun membrane, set up between the implant and the gingival tissue, was developed by taking several technical, industrial and regulatory specifications into account. The membrane formulation is made of a blend of poly(l-lactic–co–gycolic acid) (PLGA, 85:15) and poly(l-lactic acide–co–ɛ-caprolactone) (PLC, 70:30) copolymers with chlorhexidine diacetate (CHX) complexed with β-cyclodextrin (CD). The amount of residual solvent, the mechanical properties and the drug release kinetics were tuned by the copolymers’ ratio, between 30% and 100% of PLC, and a CHX loading up to 20% w/w. The membranes were sterilized by γ-irradiation without significant property changes. The fiber′s diameter was between 600 nm and 3 µm, depending on the membrane composition and the electrospinning parameters. CHX was released in vitro over 10 days and the bacterial inhibitory concentration, 80 µg·mL−1, was reached within eight days. The optimal membrane, PGLA/PLC/CHX-CD (60%/40%/4%), exhibited a breaking strain of 50%, allowing its safe handling. This membrane and a membrane without CHX-CD were implanted subcutaneous in a rat model. The cell penetration remained low. The next step will be to increase the porosity of the membrane to improve the dynamic cell penetration and tissue remodeling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Processing for Biomedical Purposes)
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