title: Investigation of structure-property relationships of polyisobutylene-based biomaterials: Morphology, thermal, quasi-static tensile and long-term dynamic fatigue behavior.
abstract: This study examines the morphology, thermal, quasi-static and long-term dynamic creep properties of one linear and three arborescent polyisobutylene-based block copolymers (L_SIBS31, D_IBS16, D_IBS27 and D_IBS33). Silicone rubber, a common biopolymer, was considered as a benchmark material for comparison. A unique hysteretic testing methodology of Stepwise Increasing Load Test (SILT) and Single Load Test (SLT) was used in this study to evaluate the long-term dynamic fatigue performance of these materials. Our experimental findings revealed that the molecular weight of polyisobutylene (PIB) and polystyrene (PS) arms [M(n)(PIB(arm)) and M(n)(PS(arm))], respectively had a profound influence on the nano-scaled phase separation, quasi-static tensile, thermal transition, and dynamic creep resistance behaviors of these PIB-based block copolymers. However, silicone rubber outperformed the PIB-based block copolymers in terms of dynamic creep properties due to its chemically crosslinked structure. This indicates a need for a material strategy to improve the dynamic fatigue and creep of this class of biopolymers to be considered as alternative to silicone rubber for biomedical devices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Science, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, Bayreuth, D-95447, Germany.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Götz
authors.forename: G T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Puskas
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Altstädt
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D011090:Polyenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013696:Temperature; D013718:Tensile Strength; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011090:Polyenes; D011108:Polymers; C008967:polyisobutylene