Biocompatibility of natural latex implanted into dental alveolus of rats

Abstract

The present study investigated the biocompatibility of a biopolymer based on vegetable latex extracted from the Hevea brasiliensis rubber tree, implanted into the bony alveolar cavity after dental extraction in rats. A granule of latex (area = 0.25 +/- 0.04 mm(2)) was implanted inside the alveolus immediately after extraction of the upper right incisor, and the animals were sacrificed 7, 21 and 42 days after the procedure. The hemi-maxillas were decalcified and processed for embedding in paraffin to obtain semi-serial longitudinal sections 5 mum thick, and then stained with hematoxylin-eosin. The latex granule was observed in the cervical third of the alveolus without any foreign body reaction, or persistence of the initial acute inflammatory reaction. Bone repair in the areas adjacent to the material was quantified, and a decrease was noted in the thickness of the fibrous capsule surrounding the implants from 92.8 +/- 9.3 microm on day 7 to 9.4 +/- 1.8 microm on day 42 (ANOVA, P = 0.01). The quantitative data confirmed acceleration of bone formation (statistically significant at 5%) in parallel with a decrease of connective tissue in the areas around the implants. These results show that the tested material is biologically compatible, and progressively integrated into the alveolar bone, simultaneously accelerating bone formation and playing an important role in the healing process.

Anatomical and functional evaluation of tympanoplasty using a transitory natural latex biomembrane implant from the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis

“…This biocompatibility and the tissue regeneration properties of the natural latex have led to the recognition and liberation of the use of the biomembrane by the Brazilian health regulatory authority ANVISA 5,11,13,14 .…”

Evaluation of sodium diclofenac release using natural rubber latex as carrier

“…The NRL membrane is an important inductor of the healing process of wounds, being used in several medical applications like prosthetics and bone grafts [12][13][14][15][16] . In addition, the treatment of diabetic and phlebopathic ulcers with these membrane leads to a faster healing process due to a vascular growth factor found in the latex and due to a physical blockage of the entrance of new infectious agents in the treated site 17,18 . NRL membrane has some interesting characteristics such as: easy manipulation, low cost, can stimulate natural angiogenesis and cellular adhesion, is a biocompatible material and presents high mechanical resistance 19,20 .…”

Natural rubber latex used as drug delivery system in guided bone regeneration (GBR)

“…Typically for those applications, the processing of NRL was basically the same as those found in the tyres industry. However recently, several new biomedical applications for NRL have been proposed using a different manufacturing process (NRLb) [5][6][7][8][9] . Of special interest, NRLb has shown to stimulate angiogenesis, cellular adhesion and the formation of extracellular matrix 10 , promoting the replacement and regeneration of tissue 11 .…”