Biomedical subjects

P H Corkhill

Publications and source records attributed to P H Corkhill.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1993

Macroporous hydrogels for biomedical applications: methodology and morphology.

Macroporous hydrogel membranes have been fabricated using two complementary techniques, both involving the polymerization of a solution of monomers around a crystalline matrix which is subsequently removed. The first of these is the freeze-thaw technique, in which aqueous systems are used to form ice-based crystalline matrices. Whereas in the second, the porosigen technique, a crystalline compound (e.g. sucrose) is dispersed in the monomer solution prior to polymerization. Both copolymer composition and the polymerization conditions were found to influence membrane morphology and the limitations in the range of morphologies attainable using each technique are discussed. Careful choice of technique and polymerization conditions enables macroporous hydrogels with a wide range of morphologies to be fabricated, which are potentially valuable in a variety of biomedical applications. The suitability of these techniques described for the production of materials for use in affinity chromatography, as cell separation substrates and as synthetic articular cartilage as well as more general areas of biomedicine, is discussed.

3T3 Cells↗

PubMed1993

Towards a synthetic articular cartilage.

The physical and morphological properties of articular cartilage have been used as a model for the preparation of hydrogel based synthetic analogues of this complex high water content natural hydrogel. The relatively poor strength and stiffness of simple homogeneous hydrogels have been enhanced by semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) technology to a level which enables the mechanical properties of natural cartilage to be approached. Maintenance of chondrocytic phenotypes at the implant interface in vitro has been found to require careful control of pore size and distribution in the hydrogel matrix. The study of synthetic techniques for the fabrication of macroporous semi-IPNs has enabled hydrogel semi-IPNs with appropriate pore sizes and mechanical properties to be produced. A range of in vitro testing techniques have been developed to enable the physico-chemical properties of these materials to be optimised prior to animal studies.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

The potential of hydrogels as synthetic articular cartilage.

The relatively poor mechanical properties of conventional synthetic hydrogels are illustrated and compared with those of articular cartilage. By using the composite structure of the natural material as a model a new family of hydrogels, based on interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) technology, has been developed. The underlying synthetic strategies are discussed and the properties of a novel representative network presented. IPN formation produces networks that are stiffer and stronger than the hydrogel copolymers of similar water content. In this behaviour these simple IPNs begin to mimic the properties of biological hydrogel composites. Thus, these materials have exciting potential for demanding in vivo applications.

Biocompatible Materials↗

PubMed1989

Synthetic hydrogels. VI. Hydrogel composites as wound dressings and implant materials.

An overview is presented of the use of hydrogel composites as biomaterials. These range from laminates or coatings (in which a homogeneous hydrogel is used in conjunction with a more mechanically stable substrate), through blends of hydrogels with synthetic hydrophobic polymers, to the use of two-component systems in which water enhances the compatibility of two structurally different polymers. Although synthetic hydrogels provide an ideal basis for materials of these types, naturally occurring hydrophilic polymers with their unique properties have a major contribution to make. It is in the clinical and patent literature, rather than journals dealing with polymers per se, that the vast majority of examples of the use of hydrogel composites are found. This review collects and comments on examples based on synthetic developments in this field during the last decade, particularly in relation to the development of wound dressings and implant materials.

Bandages↗