Wu Xun Hui, Then Yoon Yee
School of Postgraduate Studies, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia.
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia.
Polymers (Basel). 2021 Dec 30;14(1):122. doi: 10.3390/polym14010122.
Materials with superhydrophobic surfaces have received vast attention in various industries due to their valuable properties, such as their self-cleaning and antifouling effects. These promising superhydrophobic properties are taken into high priority, particularly for medical devices and applications. The development of an ideal superhydrophobic surface is a challenging task and is constantly progressing. Various strategies have been introduced; however, a minority of them are cost-effective. This work presents a facile fabrication of the superhydrophobic surface by using graphene and titanium dioxide (TiO) nanoparticles. The graphene and TiO hybrid nanoparticles are dip-coated on a biodegradable thermoplastic poly(lactic acid) (PLA) substrate. The thermoplastic PLA is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and is widely utilized in medical devices. The graphene/TiO coating is substantiated to transform the hydrophilic PLA film into superhydrophobic biomaterials that can help to reduce hazardous medical-device complications. The surface wettability of the graphene/TiO nanoparticle-coated PLA surface was evaluated by measuring the apparent water contact angle. The surface chemical composition and surface morphology were analyzed via Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The graphene/TiO-coated PLA film achieved superhydrophobic properties by demonstrating a water contact angle greater than 150°. The water contact angle of the graphene/TiO coating increased along with the concentration of the nanoparticles and the ratio of TiO to graphene. Moreover, the graphene/TiO coating exhibited excellent durability, whereby the contact angle of the coated surface remained unchanged after water immersion for 24 h. The duration of the effectiveness of the superhydrophobic coating suggests its suitability for medical devices, for which a short duration of administration is involved. This study reports an easy-to-replicate and cost-effective method for fabricating superhydrophobic graphene/TiO-coated surfaces, which additionally substantiates a potential solution for the manufacturing of biomaterials in the future.
具有超疏水表面的材料因其自清洁和防污等宝贵特性，在各个行业中受到了广泛关注。这些极具前景的超疏水特性备受重视，尤其是在医疗设备及应用领域。开发理想的超疏水表面是一项具有挑战性的任务，并且仍在不断发展。已经提出了各种策略；然而，其中少数具有成本效益。这项工作展示了一种通过使用石墨烯和二氧化钛（TiO₂）纳米颗粒来制备超疏水表面的简便方法。将石墨烯和TiO₂混合纳米颗粒浸涂在可生物降解的热塑性聚乳酸（PLA）基材上。热塑性PLA已获得美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）的批准，并广泛应用于医疗设备。事实证明，石墨烯/TiO₂涂层可将亲水性PLA薄膜转变为超疏水生物材料，有助于减少有害的医疗设备并发症。通过测量表观水接触角来评估石墨烯/TiO₂纳米颗粒涂覆的PLA表面的表面润湿性。通过傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）和扫描电子显微镜（SEM）分析表面化学成分和表面形态。石墨烯/TiO₂涂覆的PLA薄膜通过展示大于150°的水接触角而实现了超疏水性能。石墨烯/TiO₂涂层的水接触角随着纳米颗粒浓度以及TiO₂与石墨烯的比例而增加。此外，石墨烯/TiO₂涂层表现出优异的耐久性，即涂覆表面在水浸24小时后接触角保持不变。超疏水涂层的有效持续时间表明其适用于给药时间较短的医疗设备。本研究报道了一种易于复制且具有成本效益的制备超疏水石墨烯/TiO₂涂覆表面的方法，这也为未来生物材料的制造提供了一种潜在的解决方案。
