A simple method to prepare superhydrophobic polypropylene coatings for biomedical applications

Abstract

In this paper, a simple method of preparing superhydrophobic self-cleaning polypropylene coating for biomedical applications is reported. The effect of several factors on the preparation of superhydrophobic polypropylene (PP) surfaces has been studied. These factors include PP concentration, heating rate for PP dissolution, the solvent evaporation rate and the addition of different amounts of TiO2 nanoparticles. The prepared PP was studied by contact angle, SEM, FTIR, and DSC measurements. This study showed that the best suitable parameters for PP superhydrophobic surface formation were found to be 40 mg/ml of PP in xylene concentration, 3.5°C/min dissolution heating rate and 70°C curing temperature. Superhydrophobic polypropylene surfaces incorporating TiO2 nanoparticles have been successfully synthesised via the adopted method. Static contact angle of 165° was achieved. Also, preliminary biological studies, including bacteria antisticking effect and ISO cytotoxixcity, have been investigated. The antisticking effect of the superhydrophobic surfaces showed a significant positive result against S. aureus bacterial suspension.