{"title":"Effects of natural aging on hydrophilicity and mechanical properties of PDMS in various storage environments.","authors":"Shuyu Zhang, Anne E Staples","doi":"10.1038/s41529-025-00659-7","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is a synthetic elastomer widely used in biomedical and industrial applications. Despite its widespread use, the natural evolution of its mechanical and surface properties over time remains poorly understood. In this study, we fabricated PDMS samples with base-to-curing agent mixing ratios from 5:1 to 30:1 and aged them for up to 8 weeks under six non-harsh conditions at room temperature. Contact angle measurements revealed increasing hydrophobicity with aging, with maximum increases up to 16.5°. Mechanical testing showed up to 130% increases in Young's modulus and 60% changes in flexibility after 5 weeks. Storage in mineral oil best preserved surface hydrophilicity, while storage in water best maintained mechanical integrity. These results provide a framework for optimizing PDMS storage conditions in microfluidic and biomedical device applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":19270,"journal":{"name":"npj Materials Degradation","volume":"9 1","pages":"109"},"PeriodicalIF":7.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12370534/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"npj Materials Degradation","FirstCategoryId":"88","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41529-025-00659-7","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/8/21 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is a synthetic elastomer widely used in biomedical and industrial applications. Despite its widespread use, the natural evolution of its mechanical and surface properties over time remains poorly understood. In this study, we fabricated PDMS samples with base-to-curing agent mixing ratios from 5:1 to 30:1 and aged them for up to 8 weeks under six non-harsh conditions at room temperature. Contact angle measurements revealed increasing hydrophobicity with aging, with maximum increases up to 16.5°. Mechanical testing showed up to 130% increases in Young's modulus and 60% changes in flexibility after 5 weeks. Storage in mineral oil best preserved surface hydrophilicity, while storage in water best maintained mechanical integrity. These results provide a framework for optimizing PDMS storage conditions in microfluidic and biomedical device applications.
期刊介绍：
npj Materials Degradation considers basic and applied research that explores all aspects of the degradation of metallic and non-metallic materials. The journal broadly defines ‘materials degradation’ as a reduction in the ability of a material to perform its task in-service as a result of environmental exposure.
The journal covers a broad range of topics including but not limited to:
-Degradation of metals, glasses, minerals, polymers, ceramics, cements and composites in natural and engineered environments, as a result of various stimuli
-Computational and experimental studies of degradation mechanisms and kinetics
-Characterization of degradation by traditional and emerging techniques
-New approaches and technologies for enhancing resistance to degradation
-Inspection and monitoring techniques for materials in-service, such as sensing technologies
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