Extended Biocompatibility Meta Analysis of a Novel Bioabsorbable Polymer for Future Biomedical Device Development
In the medical field, biomaterial science continues to be a significant area of importance that is continuously improving at a steady rate. As such, developing new and improved polymers is an effective way of creating superior medical devices such as stents to more efficiently treat otherwise difficult to treat diseases such as Tracheomalacia. This study aims to evaluate two recently developed and tested polymers 4-methyl-ε-caprolactone with an L-lactide star block and 4-methyl-ε-caprolactone poly ureaurethane. The polymers were tested and assessed within a rat model. More specifically, while a brief analysis was done on the histological samples taken from this study via a reactivity score given by the pathologist, the study lacks robustness to the statistical analysis of its immunological results. The goal of my project is to quantify and statistically analyze histology biomarkers associated with in vivo biocompatibility in an established small animal model. Applying multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), ordinary least squares regression, and t-tests are anticipated to highlight significant differences (if any) between biomarkers and their associated study materials. Biomarkers of interest include but are not limited to, Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) Lymphocytes, Plasma cells, and Macrophages, which are known to be associated with biocompatibility in the literature. Data analysis and statistical tests was performed using Rstudio.