Abstract
Magnetic micro- and nanoparticles (MPs)-based composite materials are widely used in various applications in electronics, biotechnology, and medicine. This group of silicone composites have advantageous magnetic and mechanical properties as well as sufficient flexibility and biocompatibility. These composites can be applied in medicine for biological sensing, drug delivery, tissue engineering, and as remote-controlled microrobots operating in vivo. In this work, the properties of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based composites with different percentages (30 wt.%, 50 wt.%, 70 wt.%) of NdFeB microparticles as a filler were characterized. The novelty of the work was to determine the influence of the percentage of MP content and physiological conditioning on the properties of the PDMS-MP composites after in vitro incubation. An important essence of the work was a comprehensive study of the properties of materials important from the point of view of medical applications. Materials were tested before and after conditioning in 0.9 wt.% NaCl solution at a temperature of 37 °C. Several studies were carried out, including thermal, physicochemical, and rheological tests. The results show that with an increase of the incubation time, most of the measured thermal and physicochemical parameters decreased. The presence of the magnetic filler, especially at a concentration of 70 wt.%, has a positive effect on thermal stability and physicochemical and rheological properties. The performed tests provided important results, which can lead to further research for a broader application of magnetic composites in the biomedical field.
Highlights
Introduction published maps and institutional affilIn recent years, elastomeric composites with magnetic functionalities have attracted much attention of the research community
We investigated PDMS-micro- and nanoparticles (MPs) composites as well as clear PDMS for their potential use in biomedical applications
The results obtained for DSC and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) analysis indicate a lower thermal stability for the composites incubated in 0.9% NaCl solution
Summary
Elastomeric silicone composites reinforced with metallic micropowder were prepared. The organic matrix was a two-component Sylgard 184 PDMS silicone (Dow Corning, USA) and a metal alloy with magnetic properties (MQFP-14-12-20000-088, Magnequench, Singapore, Singapore) was used as a filler. The liquid silicone elastomer was mixed with a curing agent in a weight ratio 10:1, according to information provided by the supplier. Three of them were mixed with magnetic particles in percentages of 30 wt.%, 50 wt.%, 70 wt.%, the fourth one was a control material (clear PDMS). Materials in a form of liquid were put into a vacuum pump to perform gas removal. Clear PDMS and composites were placed respectively in a simple mold in a LabEcon 300 hydraulic press (Fontijne, Vlaardingen, The Netherlands) to fasten the curing process and provide a thickness of 1 mm for all materials.
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