Nanostructural investigation of frontalis sling biomaterial surfaces

This study examined the nanostructural surface of three frontalis sling biomaterials: autogenous fascia lata, preserved fascia lata and silicone rod. The morphological characteristics of the sling biomaterial surfaces were examined qualitatively and quantitatively by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The autogenous fascia lata showed well-arranged nanostructures of parallel fascia collagen fibrils with clear 67 nm axial periodicity, whereas the preserved fascia lata showed tangled nanostructures of damaged collagen fibril bundles. The silicone rod showed a substantial amount of debris with some scratches and the smoothest roughness compared with the other sling biomaterials, followed by preserved fascia lata. Autogenous fascia lata showed the highest surface roughness. The association between the roughness and cell adhesion suggests that the nanostructure of autogenous fascia lata biomaterials is the best for frontalis sling and that of the silicone rod biomaterials is the worst.