| Amino acid containing glass-ionomer cements were synthesized, formulated, and evaluated for orthopedic application. The formulation of different amino acid containing glass-ionomer bone cements was optimized, and conventional and resin-modified glass-ionomer bone cements were compared. Properties of interest included handling characteristics, physical and chemical properties, and mechanical strength of the bone cement. The study was based on the synthesis of different vinyl containing amino acids, different polyelectrolytes containing these amino acid residues, and different resin-modified polyelectrolytes, as well as formulation and evaluation of conventional and resin-modified glass-ionomer bone cements using these polyelectrolytes. Systematic preparation of polyelectrolytes and formulation of glass-ionomer bone cements were essential features of this work, since we anticipated that the mechanical properties of the glass-ionomer bone cements could be strongly affected by the nature of the polyelectrolytes and formulation. Mechanical properties were evaluated in a screw driven mechanical testing machine, and structure-property relationships were determined by scanning electron microscopic (SEM) observation of the fracture surface of the specimens. How the structure of polyelectrolytes, such as different amino acid residues, molecular weight, different modifying resin, and formulation of glass-ionomer bone cement, affected the mechanical properties was also studied. |
