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Effect of different sterilization methods on the properties of commercial biodegradable polyesters for single-use,
Yuping Zhao1, Bo Zhu2, Yaming Wang2
1Key Laboratory of Materials Processing & Mold (Zhengzhou University), Ministry of Education, National Engineering Research Center for Advanced Polymer Processing Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; Center for Applied Polymer Research, Henan Tuoren Medical Device Co., Ltd., Weiyuan Industrial Park, Changyuan 453400, China.
Abstract:
The increasing employment of non-degradable polymers based single-use, disposable medical devices have led to huge environmental pressure. Replacement of non-degradable polymers with biodegradable alternatives could be one solution. Since terminal sterilization is a necessary procedure for medical devices to eliminate infections, in this paper, the modifications of sterilization on the transparency, yellow index, dimensional stability and mechanical properties of commercial biodegradable poly(lactic acid) (PLA), poly(butylenes adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) and their blends were investigated. The samples were prepared by compression molding and exposed to four sterilization treatments including ethylene oxide gas (EtO), saturated steam (SS), electron beam (EB), and hydrogen peroxide gas plasma (HPGP). It is concluded that EB can be applied for the sterilization of all the materials investigated, while SS and EtO are not recommended for PLA, and HPGP is not for PBAT and PLA/PBAT blends. This study demonstrates that, when a suitable sterilization process is chosen, PLA has potential to be used for transparent medical devices such as the barrel of syringes or microfluidic chips, while PBAT and PLA/PBAT blends for other non-transparent medical packaging applications.
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