Wyatt Technology instruments employed to develop alternative materials to silicone breast implants

Wyatt Technology Corporation has announced that Professor Judit E Puskas at the University of Akron has developed a system using its instrumentation that will help to solve a prevalent and controversial material science challenge. The researchers are employing the multidetector system to develop alternative materials to silicone breast implants, as a result of faulty Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) implants causing global concern about implant safety.

The recent scandal concerning French-made PIP implants concerns thousands of women across 65 countries, with 300,000 potentially harmful implants sold over the last 12 years. It was revealed that these implants contained industrial silicone, intended for use in mattresses, rather than medical-grade silicone fillers.

Currently, only silicone rubber-based silica nanocomposite implants are available in the United States, and are subject to a number of issues including capsular contracture, gel bleed, implant rupture and infection. These issues have led to the need for material scientists and medical doctors to work together to develop alternative materials based on nanotechnology.

The University of Akron’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering is employing macromolecular engineering to precision synthesise biocompatible polymers in order to produce high-performance bionanocomposites for use as silicone alternatives. Professor Puskas combined six Stryagel columns with a Wyatt Technology ViscoStar viscometer, a Wyatt Optilab Refractive Index detector, a Wyatt DAWN 18-angle light scattering (MALS) detector and a Wyatt quasi-elastic light scattering (QELS) detector to provide accurate characterisation of the separated macromolecules.

Traditionally, a simpler system would have been employed that is commonly used with column calibration to polymer standards, or 3-angle light scattering. The system using Wyatt instrumentation delivers the accurate and reproducible results needed when performing these cutting-edge polymer studies.

The research group is part of an interdisciplinary group which is pursuing research aimed at reducing capsular contracture associated with breast implants to help women in need. Material science and nanotechnology are a key element of this, supported by top-class instrumentation.