Ceramics-Silikáty 55, (4) 401 - 409 (2011) |
|
RADIOLUCENT COMPOSITES PROVIDING HIGH RESISTANCE AGAINST STERILIZATION DECOMPOSITION
|
Suchý Tomáš 1,2, Balík Karel 1, Sedláček Radek 2,
Sucharda Zbyněk 1,
Sochor Miroslav 2,
Prokop Josef 3,
Beneš Jan 4,
Křena Josef 5
|
1 Dept. of Composites and Carbon Materials, Institute of Rock Structure and Mechanics,
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Czech Republic
2 Laboratory of Biomechanics, Dept. of Mechanics, Biomechanics and Mechatronics,
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, CTU in Prague, Czech Republic
3 Dept. of Physical Electronics, Fac. of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering,
CTU in Prague, Czech Republic
4 MEDIN Inc., Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic
5 Letov Letecká Výroba Ltd., Prague, Czech Republic
|
Keywords: Composite material, Polymer matrix, Radiolucency, Mechanical properties, Sterilization
|
We present a study of radiolucent composite materials for use in medicine, providing suitable mechanical properties
and high resistance against sterilization decomposition. The composites are composed of carbon (C), aramid or glass
(R-glass) fabrics embedded in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polyetheretherketone (PEEK) or polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)
matrix. The effect of multiple steam sterilization processes on degrading the mechanical properties, structural integrity
and hydrolytic decomposition of the composites was verified. The radiolucency of the composites was also investigated.
The mechanical performance of ARAMID/PDMS composite is strongly influenced by the sterilization technique that is
applied. The mechanical behavior of R-glass/PDMS composite during steam sterilization is negatively influenced by its
porosity. The relatively high porosity of C/PDMS composite may lead to lower ultimate bending strength values, but in
general its mechanical behavior is influenced only at a low rate by steam sterilization. On the basis of our analyses, we
can state that both C/PEEK and C/PPS composites are good candidates for application as radiolucent materials providing
resistance against sterilization decomposition. |
 PDF (2.7 MB) |
|
