A Complex In Vitro Degradation Study on Polydioxanone Biliary Stents during a Clinically Relevant Period with the Focus on Raman Spectroscopy Validation

Abstract

The hydrolytic degradation of commercially available polydioxanone biliary stents (ELLA-CS) in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) was studied. During 9 weeks of degradation, structural, physical, and surface changes were monitored using Raman spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, and tensile and torsion tests. It was found that the changes in mechanical properties are related to the increase in the ratio of amorphous to crystalline phase, the so-called amorphicity.