Applications

Numerous medical applications have been developed for siloxane polymers. Prostheses, artificial organs, objects for facial reconstruction, vitreous substitutes in the eyes, tubing and catheters, for example, take advantage of the inertness, stability, and pliability of polysiloxanes. Artificial skin, contact lenses, and drug delivery systems utilize their high permeability as well. Such biomedical applications have led to extensive biocompatability studies, particularly on the interactions of polysiloxanes with proteins. There has been considerable interest in modifying these materials to improve their suitability for biomedical applications in general. Advances seem to be coming particularly rapidly in the area of high-tech drug-delivery systems. Figure 10.1 shows the range of diameters of Silastic medical-grade siloxane tubing available for medical applications. The smallest tubing has an internal diameter of only 0.012 inches (0.031 cm) and an outer diameter of only 0.025 inches (0.064 cm). Such materials must first be extensively tested (sensitization of skin, tissue cell culture compatibility, implant compatibility). There has been considerable controversy, for example, over the safety of using polysiloxanes in breast implants. The major concern was “bleeding” of low molecular polysiloxanes out of the gels into the chest cavity, followed by transport to other parts of the body. The extent to which “bleeding” occurred and its possible systemic effects on the body were argued vigorously in the media and in the courts, and led to restrictions on the use of polysiloxanes. In the case of controlled drug-delivery systems, the goal is to have the drug released at a relatively constant rate (zero-order kinetics) at a concentration within the therapeutic range. It is obviously important to minimize the amount of time the concentration is in the low, ineffective range, and to eliminate completely the time it is in the high, toxic range (figure 10.2). Figure 10.3 illustrates the use of polysiloxanes in such drug-delivery systems. The goal mentioned is approached by placing the drug inside a siloxane elastomeric capsule, which is then implanted in an appropriate location in the body. The drug within the capsule can be in the free state, in a fluid suspension, or mixed or dissolved into an elastomeric matrix.