Developing a superhydrophobic, transparent coating for medical device applications

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Publication Type honors thesis
School or College College of Mines & Earth Sciences
Department Materials Science & Engineering
Thesis Supervisor Ashutosh Tiwari
Creator Prochaska, Stephanie Orfali
Title Developing a superhydrophobic, transparent coating for medical device applications
Date 2014-05
Description The use of laparoscopes and endoscopes has revolutionized the field of medicine and surgery-allowing for quicker and more non-invasive procedures. One major drawback of using laparoscopes is the ease of which debris and condensation can collect on the lens and obstruct the surgeon's view. This paper details a method of developing a non-toxic, superhydrophobic (contact angle greater than 150 degrees) and transparent (transmittance greater than 85 percent) coating that is applied to a lens and keeps debris off and condensation from forming. The coatings, made out of various concentrations and layers of a fumed silica so 1-gel, were topped with a solution o f hydrophobic methyltriethoxy silane. Although most of the coatings produced superhydrophobic surfaces, transmittance decreased as contact angle increased. The decrease in transmittance was far too great for any of the coatings to meet the design specifications. However, the potential for success in future work is promising.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Laparoscopes; Endoscopes; Coatings; Hydrophobic surfaces
Language eng
Rights Management (c) Stephanie Orfali Prochaska
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 700,757 bytes
ARK ark:/87278/s6gn1rhm
Setname ir_htca
ID 205944
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6gn1rhm
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