Adhesion and Cellular Compatibility of Silicone‐Based Skin Adhesives

Abstract

Pressure‐sensitive adhesives based on silicone materials have emerging potential as adhesives in healthcare products, in particular for gentle skin adhesives. To this end, adhesion to rough skin and biocompatibility are crucial factors for a successful implementation. In this study, the mechanical, adhesive, and biological properties of the two‐component poly(dimethylsiloxane) Soft Skin Adhesive MG 7‐9800 (SSA, Dow Corning) have been investigated and compared to Sylgard 184. Different mixing ratios of SSA's components allow for tuning of the shear modulus, thereby modifying the adhesive properties of the polymer. To give a comprehensive insight, the authors have analyzed the interplay between pull‐off stress, adhesion energy, and stretch of the adhesive films on smooth and rough surfaces. The focus is placed on the effects of substrate roughness and on low pressure oxygen plasma treatment of the adhesive films. SSA shows superior biocompatibility in in vitro cell culture experiments. High pull‐off stresses in the range of 3 N cm−2 on a rough surface are achieved, promising broad application spectra for SSA‐based healthcare products.

Asymmetric Janus adhesive tape prepared by interfacial hydrosilylation for wet/dry amphibious adhesion

“…In fact, if not pressed very hard, our Janus adhesive tape will leave little residue on the surface. Even if residue appears, in vitro cell culture 44 and skin experiments 45 have indicated the low cytotoxicity and good biocompatibility 46 of residual PDMS. The different surface topographies on silicon wafers could be attributed to the different polymer chain mobilities of these three tapes (Fig.…”

Thin Film Composite Silicon Elastomers for Cell Culture and Skin Applications: Manufacturing and Characterization

“…In contrast to the previous experiments depicted in Figure 5 , the thickness of the top layer was varied, while the mixing ratio was kept constant ( Figure 6A ). SSA has been selected because of its adhesive properties in applications involving attachment to surfaces with high surface roughness, especially human skin, using the manufacturers recommendation of the mixing ratio 50:50 5 8 . Human epidermis possesses a high surface roughness.…”

“…In general, PDMS possesses a water contact angle of approx. 115° before plasma treatment and becomes highly hydrophilic (water contact angle < 30°) aftertreatment 8 . Plasma treatment renders the surface biocompatible and facilitates the attachment of eukaryotic cells.…”

“…Silicone SSAs are vinyl functionalized elastomers, differing from analogous polymers by the absence of reinforcing silica 5 . Similar to other PDMS, SSA's Young's modulus can be adapted in a wide range by modulating cross-linker concentration or curing time 6 7 8 .This change in Young's modulus of silicone elastomers affects the adhesive properties of the material significantly and has also profound consequences on prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells cultured on the surface 9 10 11 . On the cellular biological level, it was shown, that eukaryotic cells respond on the signal transduction level to a modulation of the matrix elasticity or thickness of the surface 9 10 12 13 14 .…”

“…Adhesion of self-adhesive films to human skin is an emerging application field, e.g., wound dressings, fixation of ECG electrodes or other wearable electronic devices 25 26 27 28 . To measure the adhesive performance of self-adhesives in relation to surface topography, glass substrates with varying degrees of roughness can be used in normal adhesion measurements 8 21 . Here, two glass substrates have been selected to investigate the adhesive properties of the polymer films.…”