from the conferences organized by TANGER Ltd.
In this study the surfaces of pure polyethylene and polyethylene filled with organo-modified vermiculite were prepared and compared. Both polymers were prepared from industrial polyethylene powders. The polyethylene composite were filled with 3 wt. % of additive. As an additive was used vermiculite with chlorhexidine diacetate (CA). CA is antibacterial agent often used in dentist medicine. The infection is major problem of implant surgery. Smoothening of polyethylene surface may result in difficult adhesion of bacteria and viruses. Combination of smooth surface with antibacterial effect should to be very promising material for implant medicine. Two processes were compared – heat treatment and chemical modification (boiling in hexane). Pure polyethylene shows deep depression and sharp tips formed by preparation process. The heating method creates finer surface and more flat surfaces without sharp tips. On the other hand boiling in hexane create surface with fine roughness resulting in dissolution of polyethylene.
Keywords: Polyethylene, vermiculite, chlorhexidine diacetate, smooth surface© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.