Polypropylene IUCD retrieval fibers: surface morphology, material properties, microbial attachment, and migration

Highly drawn and oriented polypropylene fibers used for the retrieval thread of the Cu-7 intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) are compared as to surface morphology and crystallinity with polypropylene fibers prepared under different conditions. A series of experiments also demonstrates the colonization of the surface of polyolefin fibers by pathogenic bacteria that are often found in the human vagina. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the retrieval threads appear to encourage pathogenic bacteria to migrate across the surface of agar. The results also indicate that control of drawing and annealing can avoid the surface fibrillation and tendency to fail by separation into a bundle of multifilaments that are observed with the IUCD retrieval threads.