Engineering Commons^™

In Vitro Studies Of Lipid Uptake By Medical Grade Silicone Rubbers Used For Heart Valve Balls, Shu Hua Wu

Doctoral Dissertations

"Various chemical and physical aspects of high lipid absorption by medical grade silicone rubber and the dynamic mechanical properties of lipid-rubber systems were studied in order to provide an insight into the problem of 'variance' of these materials when subjected to 'in vitro' and 'in vivo' environments. Wide variations of post cure procedures of the silicone rubber were studied. Different post cures did not appreciably affect the mechanical properties of the silicone rubber. Mass transfer studies demonstrated that the diffusion of linolenic acid into a silicone rubber slab is a purely physical diffusion process (D = 3.2 x 10^{-3 …}