Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10731589 | Physica Medica | 2014 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
Gamma sterilization is usually used to minimize the risk of infection transmission through bone allografts. However, it is believed that gamma irradiation affects the mechanical properties of allografts and free radical scavengers can be used to alleviate the radiation-induced degradation of these properties. The aim of this study was to investigate the radioprotective effects of N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC) free radical scavenger on the material properties of sterilized bovine cortical bone at microstructure level. Forty-two cortical tissue specimens were excised from three bovine femurs and irradiated to 35 and 70Â kGy gamma rays in the presence of 5, 50, and 100Â mM concentrations of NAC. The localized variations in microhardness were evaluated via indentation in the radial and longitudinal directions to examine different regions of the microstructures of the specimens, including the osteonal and interstitial tissues. A significant increase was observed in the hardness of osteonal, interstitial, and longitudinal combined microstructures exposed to 35 and 70Â kGy radiations (PÂ <Â 0.05), whereas a relative reduction of the hardness was observed in the radial direction. Furthermore, it was found that the application of 50 and 100Â mM NAC during gamma irradiation significantly subsided the hardening in longitudinal combined microstructure. Moreover, the reduction of hardness in radial direction was suppressed in the presence of 100Â mM of NAC. In conclusion, the results indicated that NAC free radical scavenger can protect the cortical bone against deteriorative effects of ionizing radiation and can be used to improve the material properties of sterilized allografts.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Physics and Astronomy
Radiation
Authors
Farzaneh Allaveisi, Bijan Hashemi, Seyed Mohammad Javad Mortazavi,