Influence of methyl methacrylate on quantitative gel diffusion assay of immunoglobulins.

Infection is not a common problem following implant surgery using the bone cement, polymethyl methacrylate. When infection occurs, its often disastrous results makes for major complications. Many methods have been used in an attempt to reduce bacterial contamination at the time of implant surgery, but little attention has been given to the problem of possible effects of implant materials on the immune mechanisms of the host. In the experiments reported here, the in vitro effect of methyl methacrylate monomer on human immunoglobulins was determined using a quantitative gel diffusion technique. When methyl methacrylate monomer was added to serum samples containing immunoglobulin, it caused no statistically significant change in the immunoglobulin concentration of immunoglobulin-G, immunoglobulin-A, or immunoglobulin-M. It is possible that methyl methacrylate could affect other types of antigen antibody reactions which may be important in resisting infection, but the evidence reported here indicates that in low concentrations, methyl methacrylate monomer does not affect the normal reactivity of immunoglobulins of the G, M, or A class.