Torsion properties of poly (glycolide-co-L-lactide) biodegradable braided regeneration conduits for peripheral nerve repair

BACKGROUND： Poly （glycolide-co-L-lactide） （PGLA） braided regeneration conduits have been shown to be biocompatible for the repair of damaged nerve. Mechanical properties, such as radial compression and torsion, greatly influence nerve regeneration and functional recovery. OBJECTIVE： To observe the influence of conduit parameters and coating methods on torsion properties in an in vitro-degradation environment and at normal temperature. DESIGN, TIME AND SE＇I-FING： An in vitro, comparative study using repeated measures was performed at the College of Textiles, Donghua University, China from January 2005 to December 2007. MATERIALS： PGLA fiber and yarn （Shanghai Bio-TianQing, China）, as well as torsion property testing instrument （LaiZhou Electronic Instrument, China）, were used in the present study. METHODS： A total of 16 types of conduits were constructed according to braiding structures （regular/triaxial）, angles （50°/55°/60°/65°）nd coating methods （coated/uncoated）. At normal temperature, torsion properties of all conduits were tested at a predefined constant angle of 90°. Coated and uncoated conduits, which were triaxial and 65°, were incubated in a 5% CO2 incubator at 37 ℃ to simulate an in vitro degradation environment, and then torsion properties were tested at 4, 7, 11, 14, 17, 21,24, and 28 days in culture. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： Maximal torsion strength and torsion strength-torsion angle curve of conduits at normal temperature, as well as torsion strength-torsion angle curve, loss of torsion strength, and change in maximal torsion strength in an in vitro degradation environment. RESULTS： At normal temperature, the torsion properties of the triaxial structure were superior to the regular structure. Coated conduits performed better than uncoated ones, and the larger braiding angles exhibited superior torsion properties （P 〈 0.05）. In the in vitro degradation environment, with degradation time, torsion strength of uncoated conduits was deceased gradually and the loss of torsion strength was increased fast. Torsion strength of coated conduits was increased first and decreased afterwards; the loss of torsion strength was decreased slowly till 14 days; both became identical after 14 days （P 〉 0.05）. CONCLUSION： Torsion properties of coated conduits with a triaxial structure and large braiding angle were superior to uncoated conduits with regular structures and small braiding angles.

Electrical⁃Mechanical Coupling Behaviors and Thermal⁃Resistance Effects of 3D Braided Composites

Electrical-mechanical coupling behaviors and thermal-resistance effects of 3D braided composites under external loads are important for structural health monitoring(SHM). Electrical conductivity and electrical-mechanical coupling behaviors of 3D braided carbon fiber/epoxy composites under uniaxial tension were reported. It was found that the transverse resistance decreased and the axial resistance increased with the increasing braiding angle. The fractional change in resistance increased linearly as the strain was below 1.0%, and the nonlinearity appeared when the strain exceeded 1.0%. The negative temperature coefficient(NTC) effect was observed before the glass transition temperature Tg of epoxy resin, while there was a positive temperature coefficient(PTC) effect after Tg.