Sterility, mechanical properties, and molecular stability of polylactide internal-fixation devices treated with low-temperature plasmas
✍ Scribed by Gogolewski, S. ;Mainil-Varlet, P. ;Dillon, J. G.
- Book ID
- 102654622
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1996
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 870 KB
- Volume
- 32
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0021-9304
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The effect of low-temperature plasma on sterility, molecular, mechanical, and crystalline properties of poly(L-lactide), poly (LID-lactide) and poly(L/DL-lactide) was investigated. Polymers were treated for 15 and 30 min at 100 W with nitrogen, argon, oxygen, and carbon dioxide plasma. All polymers treated with oxygen or carbon dioxide plasma were rendered sterile after 15 min of treatment. Only 70%) of the samples treated under similar conditions with nitrogen or argon plasma were sterile. Extension of the exposure time to 30 min and increasing power to 200 W did not improve sterilization efficiency. Plasma sterilization, under the conditions used, caused no significant decrease or increase in overall molecular weight or polydispersity of the polylactides used. In most instances the effect of plasma sterilization was to slightly increase the overall molecular weight of the polymers studied. Treatment with argon plasma led to a more consistent increase in molecular weight than did treatment with nitrogen, oxygen, or carbon dioxide. Analysis of the surface (skin) of a poly(L-lactide) injection-molded rod following plasma