Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing, Vol.30, No.6, 885-896, 2010
Influence of Corona Plasma Treatment on Polypropylene and Polyamide 6.6 on the Release of a Model Drug
Low-temperature plasma has been studied for the textile industry as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional finishing treatments but its biomedical applications are limited. The present work is devoted to analyze how plasma treatment modifies the wetting properties of polypropylene and polyamide 6.6 fabrics and its influence on the drug release from these textile materials. Drug release studies from textiles pre-treated by plasma are unexplored and constitute an innovative research that could provide a new way to develop controlled drug delivery systems. Methods of surface analysis for polypropylene and polyamide 6.6, including contact angle measurements, drop test, SEM, as well as drug release studies, using ketoprofen as a model drug, are considered in this research. Results obtained have shown that the increase of the hydrophilic properties of polypropylene and polyamide fabrics with plasma treatment reverts in a higher release of the model drug studied from plasma-treated fabrics.