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Simultaneous Treatment of Both Sides of the Polymer with a Conical-Shaped Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:polym15020461. [PMID: 36679342 PMCID: PMC9866843 DOI: 10.3390/polym15020461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
A conical-shaped atmospheric pressure plasma jet (CS-APPJ) was developed to overcome a standard limitation of APPJs, which is their small treatment area. The CS-APPJs increase the treatment area but use the same gas flow. In the present work, polypropylene samples were treated by CS-APPJ and characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), the contact angle, Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was observed that the treatment co-occurs on the face directly in contact with the plasma and on the opposite face (OF) of the samples, i.e., no contact. However, the treatment changed the chemical composition on each side; the OF is rougher than the direct contact face (DCF), probably due to the oxygen groups in excess at the DCF and nitrogen in quantity at the OF. Although simultaneous treatment of both sides of the sample occurs for most atmospheric plasma treatments, this phenomenon is not explored in the literature.
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Different Radial Modification Profiles Observed on APPJ-Treated Polypropylene Surfaces according to the Distance between Plasma Outlet and Target. Polymers (Basel) 2022; 14:polym14214524. [PMID: 36365518 PMCID: PMC9656693 DOI: 10.3390/polym14214524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The plasma jet transfer technique relies on a conductive wire at floating potential, which, upon entering in contact with a primary discharge, is capable of igniting a small plasma plume at the distal end of a long flexible plastic tube. In this work, two different long tube configurations were employed for the surface modification of polypropylene (PP) samples using argon as the working gas. One of the jet configurations has a thin copper (Cu) wire, which was installed inside the long tube. In the other configuration, the floating electrode is a metallic mesh placed between two plastic tubes in a coaxial arrangement. In the first case, the tip of the Cu wire is in direct contact with the working gas at the plasma outlet, whereas, in the second, the inner plastic tube provides an additional dielectric barrier that prevents the conductor from being in contact with the gas. Water contact angle (WCA) measurements on treated PP samples revealed that different surface modification radial profiles are formed when the distance (d) between the plasma outlet and target is changed. Moreover, it was found that the highest WCA reduction does not always occur at the point where the plasma impinges the surface of the material, especially when the d value is small. Through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, it was confirmed that the WCA values are directly linked to the oxygen-functional groups formed on the PP surfaces after the plasma treatment. An analysis of the WCA measurements along the surface, as well as their temporal evolution, together with the XPS data, suggest that, when the treatment is performed at small d values, the plasma jet removes some functional groups at the point where the plasma hits the surface, thus leading to peculiar WCA profiles.
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Cometta S, Jones RT, Juárez-Saldivar A, Donose BC, Yasir M, Bock N, Dargaville TR, Bertling K, Brünig M, Rakić AD, Willcox M, Hutmacher DW. Melimine-Modified 3D-Printed Polycaprolactone Scaffolds for the Prevention of Biofilm-Related Biomaterial Infections. ACS NANO 2022; 16:16497-16512. [PMID: 36245096 PMCID: PMC9620410 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c05812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Biomaterial-associated infections are one of the major causes of implant failure. These infections result from persistent bacteria that have adhered to the biomaterial surface before, during, or after surgery and have formed a biofilm on the implant's surface. It is estimated that 4 to 10% of implant surfaces are contaminated with bacteria; however, the infection rate can be as high as 30% in intensive care units in developed countries and as high as 45% in developing countries. To date, there is no clinical solution to prevent implant infection without relying on the use of high doses of antibiotics supplied systemically and/or removal of the infected device. In this study, melimine, a chimeric cationic peptide that has been tested in Phase I and II human clinical trials, was immobilized onto the surface of 3D-printed medical-grade polycaprolactone (mPCL) scaffolds via covalent binding and adsorption. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) spectra of melimine-treated surfaces confirmed immobilization of the peptide, as well as its homogeneous distribution throughout the scaffold surface. Amino acid analysis showed that melimine covalent and noncovalent immobilization resulted in a peptide density of ∼156 and ∼533 ng/cm2, respectively. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the immobilization of melimine on mPCL scaffolds by 1-ethyl-3-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl] carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) coupling and noncovalent interactions resulted in a reduction of Staphylococcus aureus colonization by 78.7% and 76.0%, respectively, in comparison with the nonmodified control specimens. Particularly, the modified surfaces maintained their antibacterial properties for 3 days, which resulted in the inhibition of biofilm formation in vitro. This system offers a biomaterial strategy to effectively prevent biofilm-related infections on implant surfaces without relying on the use of prophylactic antibiotic treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Cometta
- Faculty
of Engineering, School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
- Australian
Research Council Training Centre for Multiscale 3D Imaging, Modelling
and Manufacturing (M3D Innovation), Queensland
University of Technology, Kelvin
Grove, QLD 4059, Australia
- Max
Planck Queensland Centre, Queensland University
of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
| | - Robert T. Jones
- Central
Analytical Research Facility (CARF), Queensland
University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
- Centre
for Materials Science, School of Chemistry and Physics, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
| | - Alfredo Juárez-Saldivar
- Unidad Académica
Multidisciplinaria Reynosa Aztlán, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Reynosa 88740, Mexico
| | - Bogdan C. Donose
- School
of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Muhammad Yasir
- School
of Optometry and Vision Science, University
of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2033, Australia
| | - Nathalie Bock
- Australian
Research Council Training Centre for Multiscale 3D Imaging, Modelling
and Manufacturing (M3D Innovation), Queensland
University of Technology, Kelvin
Grove, QLD 4059, Australia
- Max
Planck Queensland Centre, Queensland University
of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
- Faculty
of Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
- Translational Research
Institute, Woolloongabba, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Tim R. Dargaville
- Centre
for Materials Science, School of Chemistry and Physics, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
| | - Karl Bertling
- School
of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Michael Brünig
- School
of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Aleksandar D. Rakić
- School
of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Mark Willcox
- School
of Optometry and Vision Science, University
of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2033, Australia
| | - Dietmar W. Hutmacher
- Faculty
of Engineering, School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
- Australian
Research Council Training Centre for Multiscale 3D Imaging, Modelling
and Manufacturing (M3D Innovation), Queensland
University of Technology, Kelvin
Grove, QLD 4059, Australia
- Max
Planck Queensland Centre, Queensland University
of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
- Translational Research
Institute, Woolloongabba, QLD 4102, Australia
- Australian
Research Council Industrial Transformation Training Centre in Additive
Biomanufacturing, Queensland University
of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia
- Australian
Research Council Training Centre for Cell and Tissue Engineering Technologies, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia
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Surface modification of PMMA polymer and its composites with PC 61BM fullerene derivative using an atmospheric pressure microwave argon plasma sheet. Sci Rep 2021; 11:9270. [PMID: 33927242 PMCID: PMC8084952 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88553-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper presents the results of experimental investigations of the plasma surface modification of a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer and PMMA composites with a [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester fullerene derivative (PC61BM). An atmospheric pressure microwave (2.45 GHz) argon plasma sheet was used. The experimental parameters were: an argon (Ar) flow rate (up to 20 NL/min), microwave power (up to 530 W), number of plasma scans (up to 3) and, the kind of treated material. In order to assess the plasma effect, the possible changes in the wettability, roughness, chemical composition, and mechanical properties of the plasma-treated samples’ surfaces were evaluated by water contact angle goniometry (WCA), atomic force microscopy (AFM), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The best result concerning the water contact angle reduction was from 83° to 29.7° for the PMMA material. The ageing studies of the PMMA plasma-modified surface showed long term (100 h) improved wettability. As a result of plasma treating, changes in the samples surface roughness parameters were observed, however their dependence on the number of plasma scans is irregular. The ATR-FTIR spectra of the PMMA plasma-treated surfaces showed only slight changes in comparison with the spectra of an untreated sample. The more significant differences were demonstrated by XPS measurements indicating the surface chemical composition changes after plasma treatment and revealing the oxygen to carbon ratio increase from 0.1 to 0.4.
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