Description

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.

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