MECHANICAL EFFECTIVENESS OF POLYVINYL ALCOHOL/POLYVINYL PYRROLIDONE (PVA/PVP) AS AN INTERVERTEBRAL DISC POLYMER

The intervertebral disc is one of the body's most vital structures. It provides support and enables six degree of freedom (6DOF) motions in the spine: flexion, extension, right and left lateral bending, compression, and axial rotation. When individuals suffer from degenerative disc disease, the nucleus pulposus deteriorates, causing a loss of articulation in the intervertebral disc. To address this problem, replacements for the nucleus pulposus can be used. The objective of this study was to evaluate a potential nucleus pulposus replacement consisting of a hydrogel polymer. The hydrogel was synthesized by physically cross-linking 95%-weight polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and 5%-weight polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP). PVA and PVP were selected for the hydrogel implant due to the natural biocompatibility when the two are physically crosslinked. In order to evaluate the mechanical effectiveness of the hydrogel, a slider-crank mechanism was designed and constructed to create the 6DOF motions when interfaced with a Universal Mechanical Testing System. The viscoelastic properties of the polymer were obtained using a rheometer, which determined the elastic (G') and viscous (G") moduli of the PVA/PVP hydrogel polymer by calculating the complex shear modulus (G*) under low-frequency oscillating shear deformation. This allows for study of the viscoelastic performance of the isolated nucleus pulposus and hydrogel implant. The elastic modulus of the hydrogel was tested at parameters 5%, 10%, and 15% strain with results of 228.6 Pa, 988.8 Pa, and 1793 Pa, respectively. However, the elastic modulus tested for the natural bovine specimen at 5%, 10%, and 15% strain were 712.9 Pa, 522.1 Pa, and 363.3 Pa, respectively.