Surface Modification of Rubber and Resin Medical Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical devices such as matrices, filters, and tubes face issues with protein and cell adhesion from blood or biological fluids, leading to impaired function, and struggle with selective adhesion of specific cells like cancer cells, with existing surface coatings being prone to durability problems like peeling or separation.
Innovation Solution
A method for surface-modifying rubber vulcanizate or thermoplastic resin objects by forming polymerization initiation points and radically polymerizing hydrophilic monomers using UV light, creating durable hydrophilic polymer chains that reduce protein and cell adhesion or enable selective adhesion, applied to medical devices like matrices, filters, and tubes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a hydrophilic polymer coating is applied to the surface, then low adsorption properties are achieved, but the coating layer separates or peels due to hydrophilicity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the hydrophilic polymer coating with the base material by forming polymerization initiation points directly on the surface and growing polymer chains from these points. This creates a grafted structure where the hydrophilic polymer is chemically bonded to the substrate, combining the low adsorption properties of hydrophilic polymers with the durability of chemical bonding, eliminating the peeling problem of physical coatings.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by first forming polymerization initiation points on the surface through photopolymerization initiator adsorption and UV irradiation before applying the hydrophilic monomer. This preliminary preparation ensures that when the hydrophilic polymer is formed, it is chemically anchored to the surface, preventing subsequent separation or peeling while maintaining low adsorption properties.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a polymer coating is applied to prevent protein adsorption, then low adhesion properties are achieved, but the coating performance degrades due to separation or peeling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the coating layer with the base material through chemical bonding by forming polymerization initiation points on the surface and growing polymer chains from these points. This creates an integrated structure where the hydrophilic polymer coating is chemically anchored to the substrate, eliminating the separation and peeling problems associated with physical coatings while maintaining low protein adsorption properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses photopolymerization initiators as intermediaries to create chemical bonds between the base material and the hydrophilic polymer coating. The initiators adsorb to the surface, form polymerization initiation points, and enable the formation of covalent bonds between the substrate and the growing polymer chains, serving as a chemical bridge that prevents coating separation.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the surface is modified to reduce protein adsorption, then low adhesion properties are achieved, but selective adhesion of specific cells cannot be realized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by enabling different functional groups to be incorporated into the hydrophilic polymer chains grown on the surface. By selecting specific monomers with different functional properties during the polymerization process, the surface can be tailored to have regions or overall properties that selectively attract specific cell types while maintaining low non-specific protein adsorption, achieving both low adhesion and selective adhesion capabilities.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method provides medical devices with low or selective adhesion properties that are durable, effectively preventing protein and cell adhesion while allowing specific cell adhesion, enhancing their performance and longevity.
Implementation Method 1
a step 2 of radically polymerizing a hydrophilic monomer starting from the polymerization initiation points by irradiation with UV light having a wavelength of 300 to 400 nm to grow polymer chains on the surface of the object
Implementation Method 2
irradiating the surface with UV light having a wavelength of 300 to 400 nm, to form the polymerization initiation points from the photopolymerization initiator on the surface
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are methods for surface-modifying a rubber vulcanizate or a thermoplastic resin, which can provide chemically fixed surfaces showing low adsorption properties or selective adsorption properties with respect to proteins and cells, as well as excellent durability, instead of coatings which have drawbacks, such as that the performance is reduced due to separation or peeling of the coating. The present invention relates to a method for surface-modifying an object made of a rubber vulcanizate or a thermoplastic resin, the method including: a step 1 of forming polymerization initiation points on the surface of the object; and a step 2 of radically polymerizing a hydrophilic monomer starting from the polymerization initiation points by irradiation with UV light having a wavelength of 300 to 400 nm to grow polymer chains on the surface of the object.