Synthesis and Characterization of Antibacterial Transdermal Polymeric Adhesive Tape for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

For over fifty years, pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) have found diverse applications in the field of newlinebiomedicine. Initially, PSAs were formulated using materials like polyacrylates, synthetic or natural rubber, newlineand silicones. However, they were plagued by various drawbacks, including low tackiness, excessive water newlineabsorption, residual monomer content, skin irritation, and skin sensitization. During the initial phases, newlineadhesive tapes were fabricated by blending natural or synthetic rubber with low molecular weight newlineconstituents. While these adhesives exhibited good skin adhesion, they had inherent drawbacks. Due to newlinetheir hydrophobic nature, they exhibited a deficiency in water absorption, resulting in the accumulation of newlinewater beneath the tape. This situation could potentially lead to skin maceration or other types of skin harm. newlineFurthermore, the presence of low molecular weight components within these adhesives posed the risk of newlinepermeating the skin, thereby inducing irritation or sensitization. Polyacrylate-based adhesive tapes emerged newlineas a superior alternative to rubber-based adhesives, as they possessed self-adhesive properties without the newlineneed for potentially allergenic modifying or tackifying agents. Nevertheless, these adhesives also exhibited newlinecertain drawbacks. They often contained unreacted residual acrylic monomers as impurities, leading to skin newlineirritation or sensitization. While exhibiting higher moisture permeability compared to adhesives based on newlinerubber, they still demonstrated limited capacity for absorbing substantial amounts of moisture. As a result, newlineextended usage of these adhesives in skin or wound care applications not only led to weakened adhesion newlinebut also increased the likelihood of causing skin damage. newlineThe current direction in PSAs for biomedical applications suggests that materials based on polyurethane newline(PU) have the potential to meet the required criteria. PUs has been shown to possess distinct properties not newlinecommonly found in other adhesives... newline