ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the feasibility of using a fluorescent dye as an in situ indicator of the physical condition of a bone cement sample. It aims to understand the behavior of fluorescent probes in methacrylate cements. The fluorescence behavior of dyes is often affected by solvent-solute interactions. Fluorescence may prove useful in providing an in situ quantitative measure of the extent of polymerization of a cement sample by providing a measure of its viscosity. As dissolution and polymerization proceeded following mixing of the cement components, the viscosity increased, and the Re-complex fluorescence reappeared, shifted to the blue, and increased in intensity. In the poly (methyl methacrylate) environment, as has been seen in previous studies, the Re-complex emission was considerably blue shifted. For all the cement samples, the complex was excited at 350 nm, and fluorescence intensity was monitored near 566 nm as a function of time.
