State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die & Mould Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074, China.
Institute of Chemical Materials, Chinese Academy of Engineering and Physics, Mianyang, Sichuan, 621900, China.
J Mater Sci Mater Med. 2018 Jun 25;29(7):92. doi: 10.1007/s10856-018-6103-z.
Copper-containing composite is a cupric ions release system to prepare a novel copper intrauterine devices (Cu-IUDs), its biocompatibility and weight of the prepared composite Cu-IUDs are directly relevant to its such side-effects as pain and bleeding. To improve its biocompatibility and reduce its weight of such a composite Cu-IUDs, a copper-containing composite based on polymer alloy of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is developed. Here the role of its PEO in this novel cupric ions release system is reported. The results show that its cupric ions release rate can be adjusted easily by only changing its PEO content, and it increases remarkably with the increase of its PEO content. Our study also show that this influence is caused by the improvement of its hydrophilicity and the formation of its porous structure owing to the introduction of PEO. The improvement of its hydrophilicity make it easier for the surrounding aqueous solution to infiltrate into the composite, and the formation of its porous structure provide more routes for entry of the aqueous solution and diffusion of the released cupric ions. All these results indicate that the Cu/PEO/LDPE composite is a potential material that can be used to prepare such cupric ions release micro-devices as Cu-IUDs with slighter side-effects through its smaller weight.
含铜复合材料是一种释放铜离子的系统，用于制备新型铜宫内节育器（Cu-IUDs），其生物相容性和制备的复合 Cu-IUDs 的重量直接与其副作用（如疼痛和出血）相关。为了提高其生物相容性并减轻其复合 Cu-IUDs 的重量，开发了一种基于聚环氧乙烷（PEO）和低密度聚乙烯（LDPE）的聚合物合金的含铜复合材料。本文报道了其 PEO 在这种新型铜离子释放系统中的作用。结果表明，仅通过改变其 PEO 含量就可以轻松调节其铜离子释放率，并且随着 PEO 含量的增加而显著增加。我们的研究还表明，这种影响是由于引入 PEO 提高了其亲水性并形成了多孔结构所致。亲水性的提高使得周围的水溶液更容易渗透到复合材料中，而多孔结构的形成则为水溶液的进入和释放的铜离子的扩散提供了更多的途径。所有这些结果表明，Cu/PEO/LDPE 复合材料是一种有潜力的材料，可以通过更小的重量制备出副作用更小的铜离子释放微器件，如 Cu-IUDs。
