Prosthesis loosening is a major problem associated with the use of
poly(methyl methacrylate) (
PMMA)
bone cement that may be related to a peri-implant vacuolisation commonly observed at
bone-cement interface. Methyl
methacrylate (MMA) monomer may be one of the cement components partly responsible for the mentioned vacuolisation due to a cytotoxic effect associated to this compound.
Alcoholism has been related to
bone necrosis in predisposed individuals. Furthermore,
ethanol has been shown to clean material with adherent cement debris during cleaning procedure in laboratory. Consequently, we have decided to study whether
ethanol will also be related to an increased liberation of MMA from the
polymer matrix. 'In vitro' release studies using
PMMA plates were conducted to access the role of
ethanol on the liberation of the monomer. Contact angle measurements and surface tension estimation were also carried out in order to find a possible effect of
ethanol on surface cement properties. Results suggest that
ethanol, even in small quantities, enhances the leaching of the monomer from the
polymer matrix, but does not considerably change the wettability properties of the cement surface.