Medical Applications of Plastics

¹ U.S. Army Medical Biomechanical Research Laboratory, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.

Advances in synthetic polymer chemistry have resulted in the production of organic polymers which may have great potential in the repair of damaged tissues or organs. Research in the field of surgical repair polymers is comparatively new and as yet polymer structure tissue compatibility relationships and quantitative biological testing technics have not been clearly delineated. It is not possible now to predict, a priori, whether a polymer will be biologically compatible. Each material must be tested empirically.

At Walter Reed Army Medical Center, an interdisciplinary group is engaged in the synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of polymers in specific surgical repair applications of important military value, as well as in more basic studies designed to elucidate structure activity relationships and to quantitate evaluation technics. It is hoped that, through this research, knowledge will evolve that will make it possible to tailor surgical repair polymers of long-term utility.

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