Polarity, resistivity and biocompatibility of polyethylene doped with carbon black

• Published in: Journal of materials science letters Vol. 14; no. 24; pp. 1723 - 1724
• Main Authors: SVORCIK, V, RYBKA, V, HNATOWICZ, V, BACAKOVA, L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Kluwer Academic Publishers 01.01.1995
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Electrical, magnetic and optical properties; Exact sciences and technology; Organic polymers; Physicochemistry of polymers; Properties and characterization; Biological properties; Polyethylene; Carbon black; Electrical properties; Blood vessel; Surface properties; Electric resistivity; Biocompatibility; Smooth muscle; Polarity; Doped polymer; Experimental study
• ISSN: 0261-8028; 1573-4811
• DOI: 10.1007/BF00270988

Polymer materials are widely used in medicine and biology. Just recently, the possible application of these materials for production of surgical prostheses has been addressed by several studies. This article reports a study on the effect of free carbon on surface polarity, electrical resistivity and biocompatibility in mixtures of polyethylene (PE) with carbon black (CB). On the PE + CB samples, the adhesion and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) was studied. While the surface polarity was found to be independent on the CB concentration, and the sheet resistivity exhibits pronounced percolation threshold, the VSMC density is roughly proportional to the CB concentration up to a concentration of about 10 wt%. An optimum CB concentration of about 10 wt% was observed for which the highest VSMC adhesion and proliferation were apparent.