Analysis of cellulose ether hydrogels for medical device application
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Program
Materials chemistry (MPMCN), MSc
Publicerad
2022
Författare
Hellström, Sofia
Sjölander, Linnea
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
Intermittent catheterisation is done with a single-use catheter, by persons that, for
some medical reason, cannot urinate voluntarily. At Wellspect HealthCare intermittent
catheters are produced, under the name of LoFric®. Even though the company
already has put a lot of effort in reducing its carbon footprint there is a great interest
in making the catheters partly or wholly biobased. The catheter is coated
with a hydrogel, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), a fossil-based, hydrophilic and slippery
coating attached to a fossil-based polyolefin-based elastomer (POBE) catheter
tube. There are a lot of biobased material replacement options. Nevertheless, there
are specific and high demands on a medical product that must be met. In turn, this
puts specific and high demands on a possible biobased replacement.
The aim of this study was to investigate biobased polymers as candidates for the
hydrogel coating and for the catheter tube, and to evaluate their properties and
compare them to the coating properties of PVP and POBE. It was discovered that
cellulose ethers could easily form hydrogels with citric acid and successfully coat the
POBE catheter. Cellulose ethers crosslinked with citric acid have previously been
used as hydrogels for medical applications, but, to the extent of our knowledge, not as
coatings for intermittent catheters. Thermoplastic starch (TPS) showed potential as
a future POBE replacement, but is in need of further investigation. Neither cellulosebased
hydrogels or TPS catheter reached the standard of the LoFric® materials but
showed great promise and potential for improvement.
These biobased materials, analysed in this study, showed potential to, in future, possibly
replace the fossil-based parts of the current LoFric® catheter. This might improve
the sustainability of the product further. However, a conversion to a biobased
material does not guarantee improvement in sustainability. A life cycle assessment
should eventually be carried out.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
cellulose ether , hydrogel , medical device , materials chemistry