Silicone: A Modest Proposals

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SILICONE - A TRENDING BIOMATERIAL
R.PERUMAL SAMI,rperumalsamirdftijk@gmail.com,C.LALITHA LAKSHMI,lalithamufc@gmail.com, T.LAKSHMI,nandhini2013@gmail.com . ABSTRACT: Silicone polymers are of relatively recent invention and commercial production was started in the 1940's. Shortly thereafter it was found that glass surfaces treated with silicone fluid delayed the clotting of blood. By the mid-1950s medical applications of silicones had greatly increased and many studies of the biological properties of these materials were undertaken. Silicones are one of the most widely used and one of the most studied of all artificial materials for medical applications and no discussion of biomaterials is complete without their inclusion. …show more content…

This leads to a wide range of materials known as the silicones. This group of polymers, which have excellent biocompatibility, have been utilised to develop and manufacture a wide range of biomedical products. These range from simple tubing to complex implants, for example those used to replace diseased finger joints. The versatility of these materials has led to silicone products being employed in almost every medical speciality. Silicones, with their unique material properties, have found widespread application in healthcare. Properties attributed to silicone include biocompatibility and biodurability, hydrophobicity, low surface tension, and chemical and thermal stability. These properties were the basis for the initial use of silicone in the medical field. For example, their hydro-phobic (water-repellent) character caused silicones to be considered for blood coagulation prevention in the mid-1940s. Researchers from the Universities of Toronto and Manitoba obtained a methylchlorosilane from the Canadian General Electric Company and coated syringes, needles, and vials with the material. When rinsed with distilled water, the silane hydro-lyzed, forming a silicone coating on the

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