Adhesion to skin III. Glass transition temperatures of surgical adhesives with added sebum

Abstract

Surgical adhesives in contact with the skin absorb skin secretions (sebum) and moisture, changing the rheological properties of the adhesive and thus its performance. These changes can be monitored by measuring the glass-to-rubber transition temperature, T g , of the adhesive. Because pressure-sensitive adhesives are often multiphase, viscoelastic liquids, however, difficulties can arise in the measurement of T g by conventional methods. This paper describes the use of an automated torsion pendulum (ATP) to measure T g in a series of natural rubber-based and acrylic surgical adhesives which exhibited no transition behaviour when examined by differential scanning carlorimetry. The effects on T g of adding a synthetic sebum and individual sebum constituents, in the absence of moisture, are described.