Biocompatibility of Silicone Implants

An analytical review of silicone immunology

“…None of these papers were published in primary immunology journals. Several papers (21,44,50) were published in journals that deal with biomaterials research, and one (44) was accepted for publication on the day following its receipt by the journal editors. The unusual circumstances related to another publication by this author (50) were discussed in a recent article (74).…”

“…Inhalation of fine silica particles causes pulmonary fibrosis (18) and is generally believed to cause scleroderma (19,20). Although crystalline silica is not a component of breast implants (12,13), it has been suggested (21,22) that amorphous silica in the elastomer envelope could be converted in vivo into crystalline silica. This chemical conversion requires both temperatures of several hundred degrees Centigrade and catalysts, and it is not conceivable that it occurs over a period of years under physiologic conditions.…”

“…Heggers et a1 (21) reported that delayed hypersensitivity to silicone gel was produced by immunization of guinea pigs with the gel in FCA. The evidence of hypersensitivity was elicitation of an inflammatory response in the omentum by challenge with the gel and the results of the in vitro migrationinhibition assay.…”

Successful Treatment of Granulomatous Reactions Secondary to Injection of Esthetic Implants

“…4,7 Silicone may also interact with serum proteins and act as an antigenic haptin stimulating inflammation. 8,9 Moreover, HLA antigens may also play a role in granulomatous reactions. Thus, some HLA antigens have been found with an increased frequency in annular granuloma, sarcoidosis, and other granulomatous diseases.…”

Increased electrical conductivity of peptides through annealing process

“…The conventional inorganic materials such as silicon and crystalline silicate damage the blood mononuclear phagocytes, 7 and inflammation is consequently triggered at the targeted organ. [8][9][10][11] Even though several methodologies have alleviated the above problem by decreasing the particle size, changing the crystallinity, 12 and encapsulating the conventional inorganic materials with synthetic polymers, such efforts complicate the fabrication process, increase the fabrication cost, and pose unintended toxicity problems. [13][14][15][16] Biologically occurring polymers such as collagen, albumin, chitin, and chitosan can provide a breakthrough since their biocompatibility and biodegradability attributes are a Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed: nkitae@snu.ac.kr and jangyeon@yonsei.ac.kr intrinsic.…”