Quantitative analysis of monomer vapor release from two-solution bone cement by using a novel FTIR technique

Methyl methacrylate monomer can evaporate from bone cement to reach cytotoxic levels of concentrations in the implant bed of total joint prosthesis. Therefore, this study was performed by using a novel Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy method to quantify the release of monomer vapor from experimental two-solution bone cement in vitro during polymerization, to examine the effect of surface area versus cement mass, and to explore the effect of initiation chemistry. The results revealed that monomer vapor release is a surface phenomenon. In addition, initiation chemistry plays a major role in controlling the reaction time, and therefore heat concentration and dissipation, which resulted in a higher absorbance peak as initiation chemicals concentration increased. It was concluded that using the FTIR to monitor MMA vapors is an effective technique to obtain quantitative information about monomer vapor release from bone cements during polymerization and provides insight on the polymerization kinetics of two-solution acrylic bone cement.