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Updated: Mar 29, 2026

Fabricating Superhydrophobic Polymeric Materials for Biomedical Applications
Published on: August 28, 2015
Characteristics, interactions and coating adherence of heterogeneous polymer/drug coatings for biomedical devices
Colm McManamon1, Johann P de Silva2, Paul Delaney3
1Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Abstract:
With this rise in surgical procedures it is important to focus on the mobility and safety of the patient and reduce the infections that are associated with hip replacements. We examine the mechanical properties of gentamicin sulphate as a model antimicrobial layer for titanium-alloy based prosthetic hips to help prevent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection after surgery. A top layer of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) is added to maintain the properties of the gentamicin sulphate as well as providing a drug delivery system. Through the use of nanoindentation and micro-scratch techniques it is possible to determine the mechanical and adhesive properties of this system. Nanoindentation determined the modulus values for the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) and gentamicin sulphate materials to be 8.9 and 5.2GPa, respectively. Micro-scratch established that the gentamicin sulphate layer is strongly adhered to the Ti alloy and forces of 30N show no cohesive or adhesive failure. It was determined that the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) is ductile in nature and delaminates from the gentamicin sulphate layer of at 0.5N.
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