Tough and Three-Dimensional-Printable Poly(2-methoxyethyl acrylate)–Silica Composite Elastomer with Antiplatelet Adhesion Property

Abstract

Poly(2-methoxyethyl acrylate) (PMEA) has attracted attention as a biocompatible polymer that is used as an antithrombotic coating agent for medical devices, such as during artificial heart and lung fabrication. However, PMEA is a viscous liquid polymer with low T g , and its physical strength is poor even if a cross-linker is used, so it is difficult to make tough and freestanding objects from it. Here, we design and fabricate a biocompatible elastomer made of tough, self-supporting PMEA− silica composites. The toughness of the composite elastomer increases as a function of silica particle filling, and its stress at break is improved from 0.3 to 6.7 MPa. The fracture energy of the composite elastomer with 39.5 vol % silica particles is up to 15 times higher than that of the cross-linked PMEA with no silica particles and the material demonstrates stress−strain behavior that is similar to that of biological soft tissue, which exhibits nonlinear elasticity. In addition, the composite elastomer shows the potential to be an antithrombotic property, while the results of the platelet adhesion test of the composite elastomer show that the number of adhered platelets is not significantly affected by the silica addition. As the composite elastomer can be rapidly three-dimensionalprinted into complex geometries with high-resolution features, it is expected to contribute to the development of medical devices from readily available materials.

Silica Nanoparticle Reinforced Composites as Transparent Elastomeric Damping Materials

“…36 Previously, we reported that in a composite elastomer of poly(2methoxyethyl acrylate) (PMEA) with a chemical structure similar to PMEO 2 MA and silica particles, the arrangement of particles changes from short-range order to colloidal crystals and a colloidal amorphous structure as the filling amount increases. 37 It should be noted that, in contrast to previous results, the particles of PMEO 2 MA−silica composite elastomers with more than 38.6 vol % silica particles formed a crystalline arrangement.…”

“…Kegel and van Blaaderen, by direct observation of the Brownian motion of colloidal suspensions containing PMMA–silica core–shell particles (450 nm), showed that particle diffusion did not proceed above 57 vol %, and the presence of a crystalline array was confirmed from the pair correlation function at 60 vol % . Previously, we reported that in a composite elastomer of poly­(2-methoxyethyl acrylate) (PMEA) with a chemical structure similar to PMEO 2 MA and silica particles, the arrangement of particles changes from short-range order to colloidal crystals and a colloidal amorphous structure as the filling amount increases . It should be noted that, in contrast to previous results, the particles of PMEO 2 MA–silica composite elastomers with more than 38.6 vol % silica particles formed a crystalline arrangement.…”

Novel Tough and Transparent Ultra-Extensible Nanocomposite Elastomers Based on Poly(2-methoxyethylacrylate) and Their Switching between Plasto-Elasticity and Viscoelasticity

“…In view of the bio-compatibility of polyMEA [ 47 , 48 , 49 ] these applications can be not only technical, but also bio-medical. Technical applications include soft robotics, while in the biomedical ones, the materials could play a role in the regenerative medicine, for example as a strong structural material in implants [ 51 ], but also in more elastic applications like artificial ligament or tendon (analogy to [ 52 ]), or like cartilage (analogy to [ 53 ]). Related highly-inorganic-filled materials could also be of interest as a tough artificial bone material, in analogy to bone nano-cement based on poly(methyl methacrylate) [ 54 ].…”

“…PolyMEA/silica nanocomposites, or structurally similar systems were not studied in the literature until very recently (2020–2021), when Asai, Takeoka and co-workers published first works about such types of materials: Their first work was about laser-cure-3D-printing of a blood-compatible weakly divinyl-crosslinked polyMEA submicro-composite filled with highly regular commercial silica spheres sized 110 nm [ 51 ]. In spite of the large size of the filler, the elastomers displayed good tensile properties, which interestingly improved (including elongation at break) with rising filler content.…”

Effect of Substituents in Mussel‐inspired Surface Primers on their Oxidation and Priming Efficiency

“…Acrylate‐based resins are widely used as surface adhesives in composite materials because of their tunable bonding strength, design flexibility, and durability. For these reasons, it has been used in a variety of biological applications requiring composite materials such as dental fillings (BeautiBond®, Scotchbond™ Multi‐Purpose®, RelyX™ U200 Automix), [6–8] artificial human‐like skin constructs, [9] 3D‐printable soft tissue substitutes, [10] and antimicrobial coatings [11] . The main drawback of acrylate resins is that they are made from toxic compounds and come from expensive petroleum sources [12,13] .…”