The earliest silicone breast implants were smooth-surface, silicone rubber devices filled with either silicone gel or saline. Because of persistent problems with capsular contracture, polyurethane-covered silicone implants were developed as an alternative. Particularly in the short run, these alternatives proved highly successful at reducing the incidence of capsular contracture. By 1990, polyu...

A detailed study of the rheological properties of silicone oil gels, made from a low-molecular-mass organic gelator, a combination of 1-octadecylamine (a latent gelator) and carbon dioxide (an 'activating' molecule), is reported. Information gleaned from the mechanical measurements is used to characterize the gel networks and how they respond to temperature and strain. It is shown, for example,...

Substrate rigidity profoundly impacts cellular behaviors such as migration, gene expression, and cell fate. Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy enables selective visualization of the dynamics of substrate adhesions, vesicle trafficking, and biochemical signaling at the cell-substrate interface. Here we apply high-refractive-index silicone gels to perform TIRF microscopy on ...

The development of silicone elastomers with hydrophilic functionality in the form of PEG substituents provides benefits beyond the rheology modification (thickening) that can be achieved with silicone elastomers that lack functional substituents. We have shown that PEG-modified dimethicone crosspolymer (PEG-DCP) is an effective emulsifier for water-in-silicone (w/s) emulsions where the continuo...

e report the transformation from gels to viscous fluids within a time period of 101–103 h in ixtures of precipitated silica in silicone oil. Scaling behavior in elastic and viscous moduli versus requency, similar to that reported by Trappe and Weitz Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 449–452 2000 , has een observed for suspensions of different ages, silica volume fractions, and silicone oil molecular eights;...

The present study describes the design and validation of a simple apparatus to apply simultaneous mechanical and fluidic stress to three-dimensional (3D) cell-seeded collagen hydrogels. Constructs were formed in wells in a silicone substrate that could be stretched cyclically, and were also fitted with inlet ports to apply fluid flow. Acid etching was used to retain adhesion of the gels to the ...

To investigate aging processes of silicone gel breast implants, which may include migration of free unreacted material from the gel and rubber to local (e.g. connective tissue capsule) or distant sites in the body, chemical alteration of the polymer and infiltration of body compounds, various approaches of multinuclear nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments (29Si, 13C, 1H) were evaluated....

BACKGROUND Hypertrophic scarring caused by sternotomy is prevalent among Asians. The effectiveness of silicone gel in scar prevention may influence the decision of surgeons and patients regarding its routine use during the postoperative period. METHODS The authors conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, prospective clinical trial. The susceptibility to scar development varie...

To the Editor: We present the unusual case of a patient with leakage of a silicone implant, developing lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma. A 55-year-old woman consulted us because of recurrent unexplained low grade fever since 1985. In 1977 the patient received silicone implants in both breasts. A mammography in 1992 showed a faint granular shadow, indicating leakage of the left silicone implant. Two y...