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Microwave‐assisted processing of silicone/ PMMA blends for maxillofacial prostheses
Author(s) -
Anjos Débora S. C.,
Revoredo Eliane C. V.,
Galembeck André
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.25494
Subject(s) - silicone , materials science , scanning electron microscope , methyl methacrylate , raman spectroscopy , composite material , microwave , biomedical engineering , fabrication , silicone elastomers , polymer , optics , polymerization , medicine , physics , alternative medicine , pathology , quantum mechanics
Maxillofacial prostheses replace soft tissues that were lost due to disease or trauma, providing the restoration of the original anatomy and protecting the injured tissue. Silicone is the most widely used material, but the crosslinking process usually takes 24 hours to be completed. In this study, silicone/poly(methyl‐methacrylate) blends were prepared at room temperature and assisted by microwave irradiation. The samples were characterized by confocal Raman microscopy and scanning electron microscopy/energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy. The microwave‐assisted crosslinking is completed within 10 minutes and leads to better adhesion between silicone and PMMA than samples processed at room temperature. The methodology was adapted for the fabrication of prostheses for 50 patients with an average lifetime of 3 years, which is higher than the averages reported earlier in the literature (6‐24 months).