Associate Professor Binghamton University, United States
Introduction: Although there have been few recent breakthroughs in the development of smart periodontal probes, current designs rely on the use of a disposable probe tip. This necessity to replace the tip after every use increases the manufacturing cost and cross contamination among measurements. Implementation of a self-cleaning functionality to the smart periodontal probe alongside the electronic sensors will allow dental practices to diagnose and treat periodontal disease far more accurately. Development of a biocompatible superhydrophobic coating would minimize bacterial adhesion and cross-contamination between patients. The development of a low cost method for mass producing these disposable probe tips will be crucial for keeping the price low enough to be easily accessible by most practitioners. Here, we developed a laser cut polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with silver ink electronic components coated with a hydrophobic coating utilizing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) that shows potential for self-cleaning properties on electronic periodontal probes.
Materials and
Methods: 1 g of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) solution was created using a mass ratio of 10:1 between the base and curing agent. It was stirred for 15 minutes to ensure equal distribution of the curing agent, refrigerated for 15 minutes, and placed in a vacuum chamber for 30 minutes. The PDMS solution was mixed into 30 ml of tetrahydrofuran (THF) solution. The sample was sonicated while 70 ml of water dripped into it. Glass slides and Voltera ink samples were dip coated in the solution by submerging them in the solution for 30 minutes. The samples were placed in an oven for 30 minutes at 100° C. Electronic components were printed using a Voltera V-One printer using Conductor 3 silver ink. Probe tips were manufactured by laser cutting 0.8mm polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheets into 10mm by 1mm rectangles on a Boss LS-1416 laser. Complex solution was created by stirring 0.66g of Bovine Serum Albumin into 100 ml water. Water contact angles were measured on a goniometer and tested using a 4 μL drop of water. Mechanical properties were measured on a tensometer moving at a rate of 20mm/min. Electronic components were tested using a standard handheld multimeter.
Results, Conclusions, and Discussions: The dip coating resulted in a successful coating of the surface. It was found that there was no significant difference in the contact angle of the coating over the course of seven days and when exposed to a complex solution. It was also found that the coating had no significant impact on the resistance of Voltera conductive ink. Mechanical testing of the PET probe tips showed that they exceeded the force threshold of 1.47N by a large margin, meaning that this manufacturing method is promising for mass producing these probe tips. Although the water contact angle of the coating never reached the threshold of 150°, there are enough beneficial characteristics that a PDMS based coating is worth further investigating. The future research would be to incorporate nanoparticles such as fluorinated silicon into the coating to increase the contact angle, as well as developing a method for scaling down the electronics onto the probe tip.
Acknowledgements (Optional): This research is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF; CEBET #2238173)
