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Aging of 3D Printed Polymers under Sterilizing UV-C Radiation.

ABSTRACT: In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, shortwave ultraviolet radiation with wavelengths between 200 nm and 280 nm (UV-C) is seeing increased usage in the sterilization of medical equipment, appliances, and spaces due to its antimicrobial effect. During the first weeks of the pandemic, healthcare facilities experienced a shortage of personal protective equipment. This led to hospital technicians, private companies, and even members of the public to resort to 3D printing in order to produce fast, on-demand resources. This paper analyzes the effect of accelerated aging through prolonged exposure to UV-C on mechanical properties of parts 3D printed by material extrusion (MEX) from common polymers, such as polylactic acid (PLA) and polyethylene terephthalate-glycol (PETG). Samples 3D printed from these materials went through a 24-h UV-C exposure aging cycle and were then tested versus a control group for changes in mechanical properties. Both tensile and compressive strength were determined, as well as changes in material creep properties. Prolonged UV-C exposure reduced the mechanical properties of PLA by 6-8% and of PETG by over 30%. These findings are of practical importance for those interested in producing functional MEX parts intended to be sterilized using UV-C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed in order to assess any changes in material structure.

SUBMITTER: Amza CG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8709156 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:IntroductionAdditive manufacturing or 3-dimensional printing has become a widespread technology with many applications in medicine. We have conducted a systematic review of its application in radiation oncology with a particular emphasis on the creation of phantoms for image quality assessment and radiation dosimetry. Traditionally used phantoms for quality assurance in radiotherapy are often constraint by simplified geometry and homogenous nature to perform imaging analysis or pretreatment dosimetric verification. Such phantoms are limited due to their ability in only representing the average human body, not only in proportion and radiation properties but also do not accommodate pathological features. These limiting factors restrict the patient-specific quality assurance process to verify image-guided positioning accuracy and/or dose accuracy in "water-like" condition.Methods and resultsEnglish speaking manuscripts published since 2008 were searched in 5 databases (Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, IEEE Xplore, and Web of Science). A significant increase in publications over the 10 years was observed with imaging and dosimetry phantoms about the same total number (52 vs 50). Key features of additive manufacturing are the customization with creation of realistic pathology as well as the ability to vary density and as such contrast. Commonly used printing materials, such as polylactic acid, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, high-impact polystyrene and many more, are utilized to achieve a wide range of achievable X-ray attenuation values from -1000 HU to 500 HU and higher. Not surprisingly, multimaterial printing using the polymer jetting technology is emerging as an important printing process with its ability to create heterogeneous phantoms for dosimetry in radiotherapy.ConclusionGiven the flexibility and increasing availability and low cost of additive manufacturing, it can be expected that its applications for radiation medicine will continue to increase.

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Aging of 3D Printed Polymers under Sterilizing UV-C Radiation.

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