Microspheres Online

Everything about microspheres and research utilizing precision spherical particles.

BioCompatability of Metal Coated Spheres

For those scientists?who are looking to use silver coated materials?such as silver coated microspheres in biomedical applications, it is important to understand whether they are bio-compatable.? A selection of abstracts and article references related to the biocompatability of silver follow:

The Biocompatibility of Silver2

The experiments reported have referred to some of the characteristics of the biocompatibility of Ag. Silver has been shown to display interactions with albumin, as an example of a plasma protein, quite different from those of most metals. Such studies shed further light on the complex issue of protein adsorption on biomaterials. It has also been demonstrated that Ag at concentrations < 1 ppm exerts a considerable influence on the activity of lactate dehydrogenase, this effect being reversed in the presence of albumin. A significant but transient increase in blood levels of Ag following intramuscular implantation of the metal has been observed. This is not reflected in any raised urine level. It is proposed that the richly vascular tissue immediately surrounding the implant in the acute phase of the response gives rise to the transient increase, but a subsequent decrease in vascularity reduces this possibility. It appears that Ag released from implants following this initial period substantially remains in the local area.2

Lack of toxicologocial side-effects in silver-coated megaprostheses in humans1

Deep infection of megaprostheses remains a serious complication in orthopedic tumor surgery. Furthermore, reinfection gets a raising problem in revision surgery of patients suffering from infections associated with primary endoprosthetic replacement of the knee and hip joint. These patients will need many revision surgeries and in some cases even an amputation is inevitable. Silver-coated medical devices proved their effectiveness on reducing infections, but toxic side-effects concerning some silver applications have been described as well. Our study reports about a silver-coated megaprosthesis for the first time and can exclude side-effects of silver-coated orthopedic implants in humans. The silver-levels in the blood did not exceed 56.4 parts per billion (ppb) and can be considered as non-toxic. Additionally we could exclude significant changes in liver and kidney functions measured by laboratory values. Histopathologic examination of the periprosthetic environment in two patients showed no signs of foreign body granulomas or chronic inflammation, despite distant effective silver concentrations up to 1626 ppb directly related to the prosthetic surface. In conclusion the silver-coated megaprosthesis allowed a release of silver without showing any local or systemic side-effects.1

Specific Article?References for the biocompatability of silver are below:

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Patent Review: Use of Adsorbent Carbon Microspheres for Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

One embodiment disclosed herein includes a method of treating one or more symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome by administering to the subject adsorbent carbon microspheres with a particle size of 0.01mm to about 2 mm to reduce the abdominal discomfort or pain. In one embodiment, the amount of the adsorbent carbon microspheres is sufficient to achieve at least about a 50% reduction in the number of days the subject experiences abdominal pain or discomfort.

Patent Review: Preparation of Swellable and Deformable Microspheres

United States Patent number 7,794,755 was issued on September 14, 2010, describing the process for preparation of swellable and deformable microspheres. The patent is assigned to E.I. du Pont de Nemours and cites Figuly, Mahajan, and Schiffino as inventors.

Cosmetic Applications of Injectable Polymer Microspheres

Polymer microspheres, in particular injectable polymer particles with a diameter in the range of 30-300um, are becoming widely used as a biomaterial in different clinical fields, such as cosmetic surgery, reconstructive surgery, and urology. Injectable skin fillers offer many benefits in cosmetic dermatology, allowing new forms of facial rejuvenation and wrinkle treatment without surgery. Injectable … Read more

Motivations for Using Biodegradable Microspheres in Drug Delivery

In recent years there is significant interest in using biodegradable polymeric microspheres for drug delivery. Delivering drugs through biodegradable microspheres has numerous advantages compared to conventional delivery systems. While in conventional systems the drug is usually released shortly after delivery and stops working after a brief period of time, biodegradable polymer offers a way to provide sustained release over a longer time, thus eliminating the need for multiple doses and ensuring sustained and controlled drug delivery over weeks or months.

Biodegradable microspheres for vitreoretinal drug delivery

One of the microsphere topics that seems to be growing these days is biodegradability.? For those of you who are unfamiliar with the topic an excellent introductory article can be found in: Advance Drug Delivery Reviews 52 (2001) 5-16, called “Biodegradable microspheres for vitreoretinal drug delivery.”? The article does a good job describing the advantages of the various polymers available, such as poly(lactic acid) [PLA], poly(glycolic acid) [PGA], and its copolymer poly(lactic-coglycolic) acid [PLGA].

The article also recommends the prefered sterlization method for drug delivery (the authors recommend irradiation).

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