Jeremy Gilbert
Clemson University, SC·Biomedical Engineering
Metals implanted in the body are usually meant to stay intact. But what happens when one slowly breaks down?
- Fields
Biomedical Engineering
Materials Science
Engineering
- Topics
biomaterials
degradable metals
biodegradable alloys
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Feb 2027
What they work on
- Assess the cytocompatibility of tin-silver (Sn-Ag) alloy, meaning whether it harms cells, by exposing cultured cells to a range of concentrations of its corrosion products.
- Characterize the interface between Sn-Ag and surrounding tissue in a 26-week rat implant model, measuring blood metal ion levels, whole-body effects and fibrous tissue ingrowth.
- Compare Sn-Ag alone and joined with another medical alloy against other medical alloys, to judge its potential as a degradable metal that anchors fibrous tissue to implants.
More about the research
The question arises from Essure, a coil device placed in the fallopian tubes for permanent birth control, which was withdrawn from the market after patient complaints rose sharply. Part of the device was held together with a tin-silver (Sn-Ag) solder. This metal alloy had never been implanted in the body before, and almost nothing had been published on how it behaves there.
Why it matters
Hundreds of thousands of women have received Essure implants containing a tin-silver solder whose behavior in the body was barely studied. This work could help explain the problems some of these women experienced. Because the corroding alloy binds strongly to fibrous tissue, it might also be developed into implants that need to attach firmly to tendons or ligaments, such as in limb reconstruction after osteosarcoma, a bone cancer.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
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Washington State University, WA·Biomedical Engineering
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Design, fabricate and characterize a biodegradable piezoelectric platform with a flexible cuff electrode, measuring its electrical output and lab degradation profile to control stimulation conditions on the pudendal nerve.
Ian Pitha
University of Utah, UT·Biomedical Engineering
Determine how glaucoma drainage implant composition, design and nanoscale surface architecture affect foreign-body and scarring (fibrotic) responses, using a versatile manufacturing platform that makes implants with varied materials and textures.
The school
Clemson University: 19 labs on PI Pages, $339M a year on research, 297 research doctorates a year.
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