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Chemical stress relaxation methods are employed to study chemical and mechanical factors influencing the degradation of uncoated polyglycolic (PG) sutures. Specially constructed instrumentation is used to study the kinetics of the load bearing capability of PG (Dexon¿) 3-0 sutures in hydrolytic solution. The effects of pH, temperature, strain rate, and initial load on the rate of chemical stress relaxation are presented. Data show how mechanical factors such as the rate of loading (related to the speed of knot tying), as well as the final tension, are related to the rate of structural degradation. Maximum stability is observed at approximately 40 degrees C, with slower degradation both above and below this point. Results show that the slower and tighter the suture is pulled, the greater its ability to sustain tensile loads during hydrolysis.

SynopsisThe kinetics of the acid hydrolysis of Streptococcus salivarius levan were studied by examining the weight-average molecular weight. The molecular weights were obtained in a continuous manner from light scattering. Two first order reactions were observed: an initial rapid reaction in competition with a slower reaction.Activation energies, activation entropies, as well as the rate dependence upon substrate and hydrogen ion concentrations were determined. The data seem to indicate that the fast reaction is related to the breaking of branch-point bonds while the slower reaction is related to the breaking of main-chain bonds. Thus, levan hydrolysis seems to be fundamentally different from the completely random degradation of other branched polysaccharides, i.e., dextran, glycogen, and amylopectin.

A basic 4D imaging system to capture the jaw motion has been developed that produces high resolution 3D surface data. Fluorescent microspheres are brushed onto the areas of the upper and the lower arches to be imaged, producing a high-contrast random optical pattern. A hand-held imaging device operated at about 10 cm from the mouth captures time-based perspective images of the fluorescent areas. Each set of images, containing both upper and the lower arch data, is converted to a 3d point mesh using photogrammetry, thereby providing an instantaneous relative jaw position. Eight 3d positions per second are captured. Using one of the 3d frames as a reference, incremental transforms are derived to express the free body motion of the mandible. Conventional 3d models of the dentition are directly registered to the reference frame, allowing them to be animated using the derived transforms.

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