Midterm Exam 1 Solutions

Biomaterials (ENGN 1490)

Monday, October 21, 2013

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DIRECTIONS (-5 pts for not following directions):
Use blue exam books to answer questions.
Label the cover page of your exam book with your name, the course code
(ENGN 1490), and date (October 21, 2013).
Show all your work!
One page of notes allowed (front and back).
No calculators allowed.
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Problem 1. (10 pts)
You are given two different polymers, polymer A and polymer B. Polymer A has a Tg of -110C
and polymer B has a Tg of -125C. Assuming that both polymers are the same molecular weight
and have the same biocompatibility characteristics, which polymer should you use to develop a
soft gel like implant material? If you need additional information to make your decision, please
explain.
Solution
You cannot decide which polymer to use without knowing if these polymers have a Tm and
without knowing what that Tm is. The Tm must occur below physiologic temperatures,
ensuring that the material is soft and gel like in the implant (e.g. polydimethylsiloxane
which has a Tm of -40C).
+3 points for attempting
+2 for correct answer
+5 for correct explanation if stated that a specific Tm range was required, need to justify why
Problem 2. (14 pts)
You are analyzing a new biomedical implant made of a metallic material.
A) You suspect that wear and corrosion may expose toxic impurities at the surface of the
biomedical implant. What technique would you propose to use in order to measure
whether the toxic element is present? How does this technique work? (7 pts)
Solution
You can use X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), also known as Electron
Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA) to determine if the toxic element is in
the metal oxide layer. XPS works by focusing X-rays on the specimen under
vacuum, which causes emission of core level (inner shell) electrons. The kinetic
energy of these emitted electrons is measured by a detector, which gives information
about the environment from which the electrons were ejected. Binding energy (BE
1

= hv KE) of the electron to the atom from which it came is recorded. This
technique provides atomic information about surface chemistry for the top 100 of
a surface and is therefore an appropriate surface analysis technique for determining
if the toxic element is in the oxide layer.
+1 point for attempting
+2 for correct technique
+4 for correct explanation of technique

B) There is a concern that the manufacturing procedure has left a residue of oil on the
surface of the prosthesis. What nondestructive method would you propose to rapidly
screen some of the prostheses for the presence or absence of oil? What result would you
expect to find if oil is or isnt present on the surface using your method? (7 pts)
Solution
Water contact angle measurements on the prosthesis can be used to determine if an
oil residue is present on the surface. If oil is not present on the surface, you would
expect water to spread and wet the surface (very low contact angles). If oil is
present, water would bead up leading to high contact angles.
+1 point for attempting
+2 for correct technique
+4 for correct explanation
Problem 3. (15 pts)
A company has developed a novel polymer with enhanced biocompatible properties. It can be
produced as

A bulk material that can be :

o Non-porous or with tunable porosity
o Non-degradable or degradable over some timescale
These can be used separately, bonded together, or bonded to metal.

Particles of the polymer, of various diameters

A composite material, reinforced with high strength carbon fibers to have a yield
strength comparable with titanium alloy but with 25% of the modulus of elasticity of
titanium alloy

It has been proposed by an engineer at the company that the polymer could be used to make the
stem portion of the hip replacement prosthesis. You can assume that a femoral head of the
appropriate wear resistance can be affixed to the stem.

A) If you were limited to using only one form of the material to produce the stem, which
would you use, and what would be its benefit? (7 pts)
Solution
The high strength, low modulus carbon fiber-reinforced polymer would be the
choice. The benefit is that it would yield a more flexible stem than the titanium
alloy and thus reduce the degree of stress-shielding in the surrounding bone and
better preserve bone stock.
+1 point for attempting
+2 for correct answer
+4 for correct explanation
B) If the polymer were to be used to modify a metallic stem, which form of the polymer
would you use and what would be 2 potential benefits? (8 pts)
Solution
A non-degradable, porous polymer coating could be bonded to the metallic stem.
This would reduce the metallic cross-section and thus reduce the bending stiffness.
The porous coating could help fix the stem in the bone through bone ingrowth into
the coating.
+1 point for attempting
+3 for correct answer
+4 for correct explanation or each benefit
Problem 4. (21 pts)
The adsorption of a negatively charged protein to a negatively charged plastic surface has the
following thermodynamic parameters at 300 K:
Total
Electrostatic Interaction
Surface Dehydration

H (kJ mol-1)
-10
30
-40

S (kJ K-1 mol-1)

0.53
0.03
0.5

A) Is protein adsorption energetically favorable? Justify your answer quantitatively. (7 pts)

Solution
Gibbs free energy: =

( ) .

so yes, protein adsorption is favorable

<

+1 point for attempting

+4 for correct approach and deltaG calculation

+2 for correct answer
B) Calculate the thermodynamic contribution of surface dehydration to protein adsorption in
this case. Does this act to increase or decrease protein adsorption and why? (7 pts)
Solution
=

( ) .
=
=

Surface dehydration will increase protein adsorption, making it more favorable

(deltaG < 0). This makes sense as the increase in entropy due to water release from
the surface will drive protein adsorption.
+1 point for attempting
+3 for correct approach
+3 for correct answer and explanation
C) Based on this information, what are two ways you can decrease protein adsorption to a
surface? (7 pts)
Solution
Protein adsorption can be decreased by using a highly negatively charged surface or
a hydrophilic surface, which is tightly bound to water.
+1 point for attempting
+6 for correct answer and explanation

Problem 5. (20 pts)

The cytoskeleton is a composite structure that governs cell shape and form by mediating
adhesion, growth, motion and division. The cytoskeleton is comprised of three biopolymers: Factin, intermediate filaments (such as vimentin), and microtubules. Each of these structural
components exhibits different mechanical properties and are associated with distinct biochemical
functions.

Figure 1 shows the stress/strain behavior of polymerized networks of the cytoskeletal

filaments F-actin, microtubules or vimentin (after Janmey et al JCB 1991).
Note stress and strain are switched because of how the experiment was conducted
A) Cancer cells of epithelial origin may use protrusions called invadopodia to punch holes in
the basement membrane in order to infiltrate into the surrounding tissue. Based on their
mechanical characteristics, which cytoskeletal protein makes sense to drive invadopodia
formation? (5 pts)
Solution
Actin is stiffest and least deformable. Moreover, invadopodia are driven by crosslinked and bundled actin, which further reinforces these mechanical properties.
+1 points for attempting
+3 for correct answer, but wrong explanation
+3 for correct explanation, but wrong answer
+5 for correct answer and correct explanation

B) In response to an asymmetric stimulus, cells polarize and orient themselves. It has been
proposed that this is governed by the search and capture behavior of a cytoskeletal
polymer that spatially samples the intracellular environment by rapidly cycling through
polymerization and rupture (deploymerization). Which cytoskeleton makes sense to drive
this process? (5 pts)
Solution
Microtubules display dynamic instability and can easily buckle under relatively
small loads
+1 points for attempting
+3 for correct answer, but wrong explanation
+3 for correct explanation, but wrong answer
+5 for correct answer and correct explanation
C) What are two different ways you could design a drug to inhibit the mechanism in part B
by changing the polymerization dynamics? (5 pts)
Solution
Microtubules can be stabilized by Taxol, which inhibits depolymerization,
preventing directed migration (and cell division)
Tubulin can be stabilized by vinca alkaloids, which inhibits polymerization,
preventing directed migration (and cell division)
+1 points for attempting
+2 for each correct explanation
+5 for both correct explanations
D) Highly migratory cells such as neutrophils exhibit upregulated vimentin expression. Why
would this be useful for their function? (5 pts)
Solution
Cells with vimentin are more deformable, allowing them to enter and leave blood
vessels more easily, as well as infiltrate through the extracellular matrix.
+1 points for attempting
+3 for correct answer, but wrong explanation
+3 for correct explanation, but wrong answer
+5 for correct answer and correct explanation

Problem 6. (20 pts)

Auxetic materials display unique mechanical properties that may be useful for biomedical
implants and other technological applications. Figure 2 shows an auxetic material before and
after the application of tensile stress.

Figure 2. Auxetic material being deformed under tensile stress in the y direction
A) What is the Poissons ratio of an auxetic material? Why is this unusual? (5 pts)
Solution
As the material is stretched in the vertical direction (y), it also expands in the lateral
direction (x). The strain Ex and Ey are both positive, so the Poissons ratio v = Ey/Ex is negative. For ordinary materials, Poissons ratio is positive
+1 points for attempting
+3 for correct answer, but wrong explanation
+3 for correct explanation, but wrong answer
+5 for correct answer and correct explanation
B) Sketch out the stress-strain curve for an auxetic material. What are the different regimes?
(5 pts)
Solution

Region 1: low modulus deformation because of fiber rarrangements

Region 2: linear elastic deformation because fibers are being stretched
Region 3: plastic deformation failure of fibers

+1 points for attempting

+1 for each correct regime label
+1 for correct stress-strain curve
C) Compare the elastic shear modulus for an auxetic material with a conventional material
with the same Youngs modulus. (5 pts)
Solution
G = E/2(1+v). Since Poissons ratio is negative, the denominator is smaller and the
shear modulus is higher for an auxetic material
+1 points for attempting
+3 for correct answer, but wrong explanation
+3 for correct explanation, but wrong answer
+5 for correct answer and correct explanation
D) Would auxetic materials be useful as a blood vessel graft? Why or why not? (5 pts)
Solution
In response to a pulse of blood, the blood vessel radius will deform outward. For
ordinary materials, the walls will become thinner and can potentially rupture.
Auxetic materials get thicker, stabilizing the blood vessel.
+1 points for attempting
+3 for correct answer, but wrong explanation
+3 for correct explanation, but wrong answer
+5 for correct answer and correct explanation