Background: Although the use of polymer-based drug-eluting stents appears to markedly reduce the risk of in-stent restenosis, there are concerns about their safety including polymer layer integrity.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the morphology of the polymer layer of 3 commercially available polymercoated stents, including the effects of balloon catheter expansion, by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
Methods: We assessed discontinuities and other irregularities in the polymer layer of BiodivYsio, Taxus and Cypher stents by SEM after balloon expansion in saline solution at 37 degrees C.
Results: Distinctive polymer layer morphologies were found among the 3 stent types, including responses to balloon expansion and withdrawal. The BiodivYsio stent showed no waving or other irregularities on the outer surface, but excess polymer was present on stent edges and polymer was peeled off from the inner surface. The Taxus stent showed no irregularities on the outer surface, but there were polymer bridgings across strut loops and linear cracking of the bridges, as well as inner surface polymer defects with bare-metal exposure. The Cypher stent showed a rough surface with irregularities and waving on the outer surface. There also appeared to be polymer defects with bare-metal exposure in the loop region and peeling of the top-coated polymer layer in the loop.
Conclusions: We found several types of defects in the polymer layers on commercially available polymer-coated stents. Some of these indicate potential risks of thrombosis, coronary microembolism of polymer layer pieces and late inflammatory or neointimal reactions.
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Polymers (Basel)
December 2024
Department of Chemistry, University of Hannam, Daejeon 34430, Republic of Korea.
The chemical mechanical polishing/planarization (CMP) is essential for achieving the desired surface quality and planarity required for subsequent layers and processing steps. However, the aggregation of slurry particles caused by abrasive materials can lead to scratches, defects, increased surface roughness, degradation the quality and durability of the finished surface after milling processes during the CMP process. In this study, ceria slurry was prepared using polymer dispersant with zinc salt of ethylene acrylic acid (EAA) copolymer at different contents of 5, 6, and 7 wt% (denoted as D5, D6, and D7) to minimize particle aggregation commonly observed in CMP slurries.
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December 2024
Mechanical Engineering Department, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, 800201 Galati, Romania.
This paper presents an analysis of four clutch disc friction materials (from different manufacturers) used in manual transmissions. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were employed for the microstructural and chemical characterisation of the friction materials. To reveal the tribological properties of the selected clutch discs, three measurements of the friction coefficient between the material and the cast iron disc were conducted.
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December 2024
School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Jurong West 639798, Singapore.
Tan Delta reflects the viscoelastic behavior of materials, particularly polymers. In most cases, a high Tan Delta value is associated with transitions (such as glass transition or melting), enabling effective damping properties near these temperature ranges. However, achieving a high Tan Delta over a broad temperature range is challenging, particularly for engineering applications that involve significant temperature fluctuations.
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December 2024
Faculty of Technology Novi Sad, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia.
Composite biopolymer hydrogel as food packaging material, apart from being environmentally favorable, faces high standards set upon food packaging materials. The feature that favors biopolymer film application is their low gas permeability under room conditions and lower relative humidity conditions. However, most biopolymer-based materials show high moisture sensitiveness and limited water vapor permeability, which limits their application for food packaging.
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December 2024
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kermanshah University of Technology, Kermanshah 6715685420, Iran.
The significance of this paper is an investigation into the design, development, and optimization of a new polymeric hybrid auxetic structure by additive manufacturing (AM). This work will introduce an innovative class of polymeric hybrid auxetic structure by the integration of an arrow-head unit cell into a missing rib unit cell, which will be fabricated using fused filament fabrication (FFF) technique, that is, one subset of AM. The auxetic performance of the structure is validated through the measurement of its negative Poisson's ratio, confirming its potential for enhanced energy absorption.
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