Bone Abstracts

In recent years, latex membrane synthesized from natural latex extracted from rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis, has been studied as an important biomaterial to assist in tissue regeneration process, since it has ability to induce neovascularization and tissue proliferation, and is a low-cost and easy material handling. The aim of this study was to evaluate mechanical properties of bones after treatment with natural latex membrane in bone defects created in the tibiae of rats. This study was approved by the ethics committee on animal testing of Medical School of Ribeirão Preto/University of São Paulo under the Protocol 61/2015. 15 Wistar rats with body mass 300 g were used in this study. Bone defect with 2 mm in diameter was performed on each left tibia of animals. The animals were divided in two groups: C: Animals with no specific treatment (n=7) and L: Animals were treated with latex membrane (n=8). A latex membrane was placed over the bone defect during surgery in animals of L group. After 4 weeks, the animals were killed and left tibias were removed for mechanical analysis. A Universal Test Machine was used to evaluate the properties of Maximum Load and Stiffness, using the three-point flexion test. The speed of force application was 1 mm/min in the postero-anterior direction. The results showed that there were no statistical differences between the groups for Maximal Load (P>0.05) the stiffness was higher in the group treated with latex membrane (P<0.05) compared to the group with achieved a greater stiffness (P<0.05) compared to the without specific treatment group. The latex membrane may improve the stiffness of the tibia of rats after bone defect.