Measuring Platinum Levels in Hair in Women with Silicone Breast Implants and Systemic Symptoms

It has been suggested that compounds present in silicone breast implants (eg, silicone particles or heavy metals such as platinum) migrate into the body and can cause systemic symptoms in susceptible women, causing what is known as breast implant illness. This pilot study investigates possible associations between hair platinum levels in patients with breast implants and breast implant illness, and evaluates its possible use for diagnostic purposes.

Methods

Patients were included from the silicone outpatient clinic at Amsterdam University Medical Centre. Platinum concentration in hair samples of 10 women with breast implants and systemic symptoms (group A) was compared with that in 10 women with breast implants but no symptoms (group B), and a control group of 10 women without implants or symptoms (group C), using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Radiological imaging was used to assess implant ruptures or silicone leakage.

Results

A median platinum concentration of 0.09 μg per kg [IQR 0.04-0.15] was found in group A, 0.08 μg per kg [IQR 0.04-0.12] in group B, and 0.04 μg per kg [IQR 0.02-0.13] in group C, with no statistical significant difference between the groups (Kruskal-Wallis test, P = 0.43). No correlation between radiologically proven implant leakage and platinum level was found.

Conclusions

There was no statistically significant difference in hair platinum levels in women with or without silicone breast implants or breast implant illness. Therefore, based on this pilot study, we do not recommend this test for clinical use. Given the small sample size, more research is required to fully assess its possible use for diagnostic purposes.

Different platinum crystal surfaces show very distinct protein denaturation capabilities

Different platinum (Pt) surfaces of nanocrystals usually exhibit significant distinctions with regard to various biological, physical, and chemical characteristics, such as bio-recognition, surface wetting, and catalytic activities. In this study, we report for the first time that two shape-controlled Pt nanocrystals with the most common low-index surfaces, Pt(100) and Pt(111), show very dissimilar protein denaturation capabilities based on all-atom molecular dynamics simulations employing the widely used model protein, villin headpiece (HP35). We demonstrate that HP35 is well preserved on the Pt(100) crystal surface, whereas it is severely disrupted on the Pt(111) crystal surface. This surprising difference originates from the distinct water behavior in the first solvation shell (FSS) of the two Pt crystal surfaces. Within the FSS of the Pt(100) crystal surface, water molecules form a very compact and stable monolayer through a highly uniform rhombic hydrogen-bond network. This water monolayer prefers the adsorption of acidic residues (such as Glu and Asp) and acts as a shield to prevent other residues from directly coming into contact with the metal surface. On the other hand, the hydrogen bond network in the water monolayer in the FSS of the Pt(111) crystal surface is very sparse and quite defective, which makes it more vulnerable to the penetration of various residues, particularly those with planar side chains such as Phe, Trp and Arg due to strong dispersion interactions, leading to subsequent protein unfolding. The binding free energy calculations for some key amino acids on the two different crystal surfaces further uncover the molecular origin behind their distinct protein denaturation capability. Our study reveals the vital importance of interfacial water in determining the structure of proteins when binding to different metal crystal surfaces. The discovered molecular mechanisms may be helpful for the future development of a bio-assisted programmable synthetic strategy of sophisticated Pt nanostructures for biomedical applications.