Quantitative Assessment of the Development of Micromycete Colony on the Surfaces of Polymers and Polymer Composites

Abstract

The need to ensure the possibility of widespread use of electronic and mobile health-saving technologies requires not only the formation of an appropriate information technology infrastructure and the development of effective algorithms for processing a large amount of personal information. Development of medical devices for recording physiological processes also involves the creation of innovative biologically compatible materials that allow sensors and medical sensors to work continuously in 24/7 mode. Taking into account the long-term positive experience of using large-capacity thermoplastics and elastomers in medical equipment, it seems promising to use the corresponding polymers as the main materials of wearable electronics for medical purposes. At the same time, to ensure the biological compatibility of the materials under discussion, it is necessary to minimize the possibility of the development of pathogenic microorganisms on surfaces in contact with living tissues. This type of pathogenic organisms (pathogens of a number of dangerous diseases – mycoses) includes some types of microscopic fungi - micromycetes (in particular, Aspergillus niger van Tiegem; Aspergillus terreus Thom; Penicillium cycopium Westling). The article examines the effect of surface modification by gas-phase fluorination on the nature and degree of development of a mixed colony of micromycetes on the surfaces of experimental samples made of several types of thermoplastics (polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, low-density polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate) and elastomers (butyl- and butadiene-nitrile rubbers, as well as ethylene, propylene and dicyclopentadiene copolymers). The nature and degree of development of colonies are quantitatively described using the original methodology developed earlier. The effect of fluorination on the nanotexture and chemical composition of the surface and near-surface layers of experimental samples was demonstrated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and IR Fourier spectroscopy (IRFS). The dynamics and efficiency of fluorination are described using a linearized hyperbolic model, the parameters of which are set by the least squares method.