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Preparation of bioabsorbable nerve guide tubes
R M Luciano1, C A de Carvalho Zavaglia, E A de Rezende Duek
1Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, State University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. rubis@fem.unicamp.br
Abstract:
The use of bioabsorbable polymers in applications as temporary structural function, recovering damage in live tissues, is a promising research area. Membranes of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) may act as support to adhesion and cellular invasion or as devices for guided tissue regeneration (GTR). In this study, the same casting technique used to prepare membranes was used to prepare PLA tubes. These tubes can be used for tests in nerve guided regeneration (NGR). To improve flexibility of the device, a bioabsorbable plasticizer was added to the polymer. The initial results showed that the proposed technique allowed the preparation of flexible tubes that can be used for NGR.