Nylon—A material introduction and overview for biomedical applications

Abstract

Nylon is a human‐made material and has been applied in many industrial fields. This literature review explores the use of nylon in biomedical applications and discusses the properties and three‐dimensional (3D) printability of this material. Nylon is studied due to its versatility as an engineering plastic that can be easily transformed into fibers, films, and molded parts. Due to nylon's biocompatible nature, it has desirable chemical stability and tunable mechanical properties making this material and its derivatives widely used as sutures, catheters, dentures, and so on. However, the interactions between nylon and human body tissues have yet to be fully understood. Nevertheless, nylon is hybridized with different materials and used as skin dressings. In recent years, nylon composites have been actively researched in tissue engineering as an alternative to metallic implants with an appropriate bioactivity potential for bone growth. As nylon is supposed to be in contact with the tissue for a long time, hence researchers are developing antimicrobial strategies for the nylon materials to even promote their potential a step further. The 3D printing of nylon is currently confined to specific applications due to the printing technology's current limitations.

Development of Composite, Reinforced, Highly Drug-Loaded Pharmaceutical Printlets Manufactured by Selective Laser Sintering—In Search of Relevant Excipients for Pharmaceutical 3D Printing

“…Nylons are good candidates as potential pharmaceutical excipients due to their biocompatibility (see the extensive review article by Shakiba et al [ 38 ]), printability and good mechanical properties. At this stage of DDS development, using technical grade (carbon-stained nylon) had no negative impact on the presentation of the general idea of the study and even on further developments.…”

“…They are a group of synthetic polymers with favorable physicochemical properties, such as thermal stability combined with thermoplasticity, mechanical strength, chemical inertness, hydrophilicity and a high purity level after synthesis. The extensive clinical use of nylons as surgical materials together with other biomedical applications, including wound healing, manufacturing of dental implants, regenerative medicine and drug delivery, confirms their biocompatibility and non-toxicity [ 38 ]. These properties allow nylons to be used to formulate sustained-release drug delivery systems.…”

Comparative Study of Different Sampling Methods of Biofilm Formed on Stainless-Steel Surfaces in a CDC Biofilm Reactor

“…SEM imaging revealed a significant bacterial charge remaining in the toothbrush head, where biofilm cells were clearly trapped on bristles, between them and at their base, despite ultrasonication and vortex agitation. In fact, the bristles are made of nylon, a polymer material well-known to absorb water ( Shakiba et al, 2021 ), which might be preventing the cells to be transferred into the sampling suspension ( Black et al, 2007 ; Park et al, 2014 ). In addition, their bundling (closely juxtaposed) helps them retain many of the cells freed from the biofilm ( Efstratiou et al, 2007 ).…”

A Review on Materials and Experimental Process used in Air-sprig

“…It has excellent mechanical properties, which can be further increased by adding other materials and elements. Nylon is used in the textile and food industries and is compatible with human tissues for biomedical implants [13], [14] Properties of Nylon [14], [15] Polyester -The common and widely used polyester fibre is polyethene terephthalate which is called PET, which is a synthetic fibre which is produced in huge quantities all over the world. It is a low-cost material and can be used with natural fabrics, which is also a recyclable material, providing convenience in processing and performance.…”