Xin Zhou

By Xin Zhou, Yiming Zhang, Xiaohua Shi and Dongli Fan

Silicone Rubber (SR) and SR-based materials have been used as medical tissue implants in the field of plastic surgery for many years, but there are still some reports of adverse reactions to long-term implants. In our study, three types of carbon ion silicone rubber were obtained by implanting three doses of carbon ions. Then, the surface characteristics, the antibacterial adhesion properties and in vivo host responses were evaluated. These study shown that ion implantation change the surface roughness and zeta potential of virgin SR; it also inhibit bacterial adhesion. At the same time, ion implantation enhance the cell proliferation, adhesion and tissue compatibility. These data indicate that carbon ion implanted silicone rubber exhibits good antibacterial adhesion properties, cytocompatibility and triggers thinner and weaker tissue capsules. In addition, according to the surface characteristics, we speculate that high surface roughness and high zeta potential may be the main factors that induce the unique biocompatibility of carbon ion implanted silicone rubber. In this chapter, we will review these results above and propose that ion implantation should be considered for further investigation and application, and carbon ion silicone rubber could be a better biomaterial to decrease silicone rubber–initiated complications.

Part of the book: Ion Implantation

By Xin Zhou, Yiming Zhang, Xiaohua Shi and Dongli Fan

Silicone rubber (SR) is a common soft tissue filler material used in plastic surgery. However, it suffers from poor biocompatibility. Previous studies have found that the ion implantation technology can be used to improve the biocompatibility of metal materials. However, it is not clear whether it can improve the biocompatibility of polymer materials. In this study, carbon ion SR was prepared by carbon ion implantation. After that, the characteristics of ion implanted SR were investigated. Then, Escherichia coli was utilized to test the antibacterial ability of the carbon ion implanted SR. Besides, the dermal fibroblasts were used to evaluate the cytocompatibility. From the results, carbon ion implantation had no significant effect on the hardness, tensile strength and elongation at break of SR. At the same time, there was no significant change in the surface morphology of SR. But the results show that the surface nano-morphology, surface element composition, hydrophobic and ζ potential of the surface of SR changed significantly. The changes further mediated the lower adhesion of bacteria and enhanced biocompatibility. In conclusion, the carbon ion implantation technology can improve the surface properties of silicone rubber, and further improve its biocompatibility.

Part of the book: Elastomers