Mechanical properties of antibacterial silicone rubber for hydrocephalus shunts

In an effort to find a solution to the serious problem of bacterial colonization of cerebrospinal-fluid shunting devices, room-temperature and heat-vulcanizing silicone rubbers were impregnated with gentamicin sulphate. The effects on the mechanical properties of the two rubbers were studied. Results show that the tensile strength and extensibility of the room-temperature-vulcanizing silicone rubber reduced with increasing concentration of the drug. For the heat-vulcanizing silicone rubber, the tensile strength was also found to decrease with increasing drug content. The extensibility after an initial reduction at low concentrations was found to increase at drug concentrations in excess of 10 mg/g. Nevertheless, the changes in mechanical properties measured are considered not to be so great as to preclude the application of drug-impregnated silicone rubbers to cerebrospinal-fluid shunting devices.