Polymer microfiber mechanical properties: A system for assessment and investigation of the link with fibrous capsule formation
✍ Scribed by Sanders, J. E. ;Nicholson, B. S. ;Mitchell, S. B. ;Ledger, R. E.
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2003
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 121 KB
- Volume
- 67A
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0021-9304
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✦ Synopsis
Abstract
A novel microtensile testing instrument was developed to assess the mechanical properties of small‐diameter polyethylene, polyurethane, and polyester microfibers. The instrument had a root‐mean‐square error of 2.96 μN for force measurement and 1.91 μm for displacement measurement. Microfibers ranging in diameter from 1.0 to 10.9 μm were strained at 2 mm/s in the device, and the slopes of their stress–strain curves (material moduli) were determined. Correlations between material modulus and previously published data on fibrous capsule presence and thickness for implanted polyethylene, polyurethane, and polyester microfibers were investigated. Results for the 1.0–5.9‐μm microfiber diameter range showed that neither the percentage of unencapsulated fibers nor the capsule thickness correlated well with modulus. Correlation coefficients were 0.04 and 0.09, respectively. However, for the 6.0–10.9 μm diameter range the correlations were strong, 1.00 for both percentage of unencapsulated fibers and capsule thickness. It is suggested that the results reflect the greater attachment and mechanical interaction of cells with microfibers for the 6.0–10.9 μm‐diameter range than for the 1.0–5.9 μm‐diameter range. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 67A: 1412–1416, 2003