Silicone Elastomers Conference: Preventing Biofilm Formation

Research from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences on inhibiting the formation of biofilm on silicone elastomers will be presented at a forthcoming technical conference. “Microbial biofilm inhibitor for silicone elastomers” is one of three papers with a medical theme scheduled for the third annual Silicone Elastomers 2009. The conference will be held in Hamburg, Germany, on 7–8 October.

Like other indwelling materials in the body, silicone elastomers are frequently associated with microbial biofilm formation that can lead to adverse clinical effects. In previous studies, researchers Svoboda Tabakova and V Mircheva at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences investigated the biofilm-inhibiting effect of tetramethyldithiooxamide (TMDTOA) and its metal complexes on different polymer surfaces. It was expected that TMDTOA would have a similar effect on silicone elastomers. Their findings and recommendations will be unveiled in a morning session on 8 October.

Microbial growth on and within the surface of silicone rubber also will be the topic of an afternoon session on the first day of the conference. In particular, Dr. Burkhard Ledig from Momentive Performance Materials will describe a technology developed by his company that directly incorporates a silver-based antimicrobial additive into a base silicone elastomer. In addition to discussing applications of the StatSil product line, Ledig will provide a succinct overview of relevant healthcare legislation.

Sharing the early afternoon time slot with Ledig, Dr. Andre Colas of Dow Corning will broaden the focus to explore recent developments in the medical use of silicone elastomers. In his abstract, he notes that elastomers based on polydimethylsiloxanes have some unique physico-chemical properties that result in low intermolecular chain-to-chain interactions. Consequently, the materials have low Tg and surface tensions and high permeability. These polymers are easily cross-linked and converted into elastomers without the need for stabilisers or plasticisers. Extractables are linked to the re-equilibration reactions used to make these polymers and are mainly cyclic and linear oligomers. The use of chromatography techniques or Si NMR spectroscopy to analyse these oligomers, as well as an examination of their toxicological profiles, will be reviewed by Colas. The use of silicone elastomers in soft gel adhesives, combination products and emerging biotechnology applications also will be addressed by Colas.

Silicone Elastomers 2009 is organised by iSmithers, the information business within Smithers Rapra. For more information about the event and to register to attend, go to www.polymerconferences.com.

Tags: biofilm formation, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Dow Corning, iSmithers, Materials, Momentive, Rapra, silicone elastomers, Smithers