Effect of UV-C Radiation on 3D Printed ABS-PC Polymers

Catalin Gheorghe Amza; Aurelian Zapciu; Florin Baciu; Constantin Radu

doi:10.3390/polym15081966

journal article Open Access Apr 21, 2023

Effect of UV-C Radiation on 3D Printed ABS-PC Polymers

Catalin Gheorghe Amza

Aurelian Zapciu

Florin Baciu

Constantin Radu

Polymers Vol. 15 No. 8 pp. 1966 · MDPI AG

View at Publisher Save 10.3390/polym15081966

Abstract

During the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare facilities experienced severe shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies. Employing 3D printing to rapidly fabricate functional parts and equipment was one of the emergency solutions used to tackle these shortages. Using ultraviolet light in the UV-C band (wavelengths of 200 nm to 280 nm) might prove useful in sterilizing 3D printed parts, enabling their reusability. Most polymers, however, degrade under UV-C radiation, so it becomes necessary to determine what 3D printing materials can withstand the conditions found during medical equipment sterilization with UV-C. This paper analyzes the effect of accelerated aging through prolonged exposure to UV-C on the mechanical properties of parts 3D printed from a polycarbonate and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene polymer (ABS-PC). Samples 3D printed using a material extrusion process (MEX) went through a 24-h UV-C exposure aging cycle and then were tested versus a control group for changes in tensile strength, compressive strength and some selected material creep characteristics. Testing showed minimal mechanical property degradation following the irradiation procedure, with tensile strength being statistically the same for irradiated parts as those in the control group. Irradiated parts showed small losses in stiffness (5.2%) and compressive strength (6.5%). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed in order to assess if any changes occurred in the material structure.

Topics

No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →

References

95

[1]

World Health Organization (2023, March 15). Shortage of Personal Protective Equipment Endangering Health Workers Worldwide. Available online: https://www.who.int/news/item/03-03-2020-shortage-of-personal-protective-equipment-endangering-health-workers-worldwide.

[2]

Amutio "Stressors, job re-sources, fear of contagion, and secondary traumatic stress among nursing home workers in face of the COVID-19: The case of Spain" J. Appl. Gerontol. (2021) 10.1177/0733464820964153

[3]

Critical Supply Shortages — The Need for Ventilators and Personal Protective Equipment during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Megan L. Ranney, Valerie Griffeth, Ashish K. Jha

New England Journal of Medicine 2020 10.1056/nejmp2006141

[4]

Webber, L., and Jewett, C. (2023, March 18). Testing Swabs Run in Short Supply as Makers Try to Speed up Production. Available online: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/03/18/817801222/testing-swabs-run-in-short-supply-as-makers-try-to-speed-up-production.

[5]

Hufford, A. (2023, March 20). 3M CEO on N95 Masks: ‘Demand Exceeds Our Production Capacity’. Available online: https://www.wsj.com/articles/3m-ceo-on-n95-masks-demand-exceeds-our-production-capacity-11585842928.

[6]

Chen, P.G., Chan, E.W., Qureshi, N., Shelton, S., and Mulcahy, A.W. (2023, March 20). RAND Health Care–Project Report. Medical Device Supply Chains An Overview and Description of Challenges During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Available online: https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/e48047020834c0c34cf6baf08a9428d0/PR-A328-2-medicaldevices.pdf.

[7]

Park, C.-Y., Kim, K., Roth, S., Beck, S., Kang, J.W., Tayag, M.C., and Griffin, M. (2020). Global Shortage of Personal Protective Equipment amid COVID-19: Supply Chains, Bottlenecks, and Policy Implications. ADB Briefs, 130. 10.22617/brf200128-2

[8]

Bown "How COVID-19 Medical Supply Shortages Led to Extraordinary Trade and Industrial Policy" Asian Econ. Policy Rev. (2022) 10.1111/aepr.12359

[9]

Mustapha "A critical analysis of the impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy and ecosystems and opportunities for circular economy strategies" Resour. Conserv. Recycl. (2021) 10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105169

[10]

Cohen "Contributing factors to personal protective equipment shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic" Prev. Med. (2020) 10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106263

[11]

Jordan "Additive manufacturing (“3D printing”) and the future of organizational design: Some early notes from the field" J. Org. Des. (2019)

[12]

Mueller, T., Elkaseer, A., Charles, A., Fauth, J., Rabsch, D., Scholz, A., Marquardt, C., Nau, K., and Scholz, S.G. (2020). Eight Weeks Later—The Unprecedented Rise of 3D Printing during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Case Study, Lessons Learned, and Implications on the Future of Global Decentralized Manufacturing. Appl. Sci., 10. 10.3390/app10124135

[13]

Siemsen "Decentralization and Localization of Production: The Organizational and Economic Consequences of Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing)" Calif. Manag. Rev. (2017)

[14]

Malik "3D printing towards implementing Industry 4.0: Sustainability aspects, barriers and challenges" Ind. Rob. (2022) 10.1108/ir-10-2021-0247

[15]

Choong "The global rise of 3D printing during the COVID-19 pandemic" Nat. Rev. Mater. (2020) 10.1038/s41578-020-00234-3

[16]

Maracaja "How 3D Printing Can Prevent Spread of COVID-19 Among Healthcare Professionals During Times of Critical Shortage of Protective Personal Equipment" J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. (2020) 10.1053/j.jvca.2020.04.004

[17]

Manero, A., Smith, P., Koontz, A., Dombrowski, M., Sparkman, J., Courbin, D., and Chi, A. (2020). Leveraging 3D Printing Capacity in Times of Crisis: Recommendations for COVID-19 Distributed Manufacturing for Medical Equipment Rapid Response. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 17. 10.3390/ijerph17134634

[18]

Hagen "3D Printing for Medical Applications: Current State of the Art and Perspectives during the COVID-19 Crisis" Surgeries (2021) 10.3390/surgeries2030025

[19]

Longhitano "The role of 3D printing during COVID-19 pandemic: A review" Prog. Addit. Manuf. (2021) 10.1007/s40964-020-00159-x

[20]

Radfar "The role of 3D printing in the fight against COVID-19 outbreak" J. 3D Print. Med. (2021) 10.2217/3dp-2020-0028

[21]

Ford "A 3D-printed nasopharyngeal swab for COVID-19 diagnostic testing" 3D Print. Med. (2020) 10.1186/s41205-020-00076-3

[22]

Alyouha "Polyester tipped 3-dimensionally printed swab that costs less than US$0.05 and can easily and rapidly be mass produced" BMJ Innov. (2020) 10.1136/bmjinnov-2020-000483

[23]

Manoj "3D printing of nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 diagnose: Past and current trends" Mater. Today Proc. (2021) 10.1016/j.matpr.2020.11.505

[24]

Wesemann, C., Pieralli, S., Fretwurst, T., Nold, J., Nelson, K., Schmelzeisen, R., Hellwig, E., and Spies, B.C. (2020). 3-D Printed Protective Equipment during COVID-19 Pandemic. Materials, 13. 10.3390/ma13081997

[25]

Novak "A quantitative analysis of 3D printed face shields and masks during COVID-19" Emerald Open Research (2020) 10.35241/emeraldopenres.13815.1

[26]

Wong "A Review of Additive Manufacturing" Int. Sch. Res. Not. (2012)

[27]

Ju "Face masks against COVID-19: Standards, efficacy, testing and decontamination methods" Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. (2021) 10.1016/j.cis.2021.102435

[28]

Arora "Comparing the fit of N95, KN95, surgical, and cloth face masks and assessing the accuracy of fit checking" PLoS ONE (2021) 10.1371/journal.pone.0245688

[29]

Dugdale "Filtration Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Availability of N95 Face Masks for COVID-19 Prevention" JAMA Intern. Med. (2020) 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.4218

[30]

Ballard "Quantitative Fit Tested N95 Respirator-Alternatives Generated with CT Imaging and 3D Printing: A Response to Potential Shortages During the COVID-19 Pandemic" Acad. Radiol. (2021) 10.1016/j.acra.2020.11.005

[31]

McAvoy, M., Bui, A.T.N., Hansen, C., Plana, D., Said, J.T., Yu, Z., Yang, H., Freake, J., Van, C., and Krikorian, D. (2021). 3D Printed frames to enable reuse and improve the fit of N95 and KN95 respirators. BMC Biomed. Eng., 3. 10.1186/s42490-021-00055-7

[32]

Tipnis "Sterilization of implantable polymer-based medical devices: A review" Int. J. Pharm. (2018) 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2017.12.003

[33]

Ghobeira "Effects of different sterilization methods on the physico-chemical and bioresponsive properties of plasma-treated polycaprolactone films" Biomed. Mater. (2017) 10.1088/1748-605x/aa51d5

[34]

Walker, J. (2020). Woodhead Publishing Series in Biomaterials, Decontamination in Hospitals and Healthcare, Woodhead Publishing. [2nd ed.].

[35]

Shanmugam, P.S.T., Chokkalingam, L., and Bakthavachalam, P. (2020). Trends in Development of Medical Devices, Academic Press.

[36]

McEvoy "Terminal sterilization of medical devices using vaporized hydrogen peroxide: A review of current methods and emerging opportunities" J. Appl. Microbiol. (2019) 10.1111/jam.14412

[37]

Popescu "Effects of multiple sterilizations and natural aging on the mechanical behavior of 3D-printed ABS" Mech. Mater. (2020) 10.1016/j.mechmat.2020.103423

[38]

Grzelak, K., Łaszcz, J., Polkowski, J., Mastalski, P., Kluczyński, J., Łuszczek, J., Torzewski, J., Szachogłuchowicz, I., and Szymaniuk, R. (2021). Additive Manufacturing of Plastics Used for Protection against COVID19—The Influence of Chemical Disinfection by Alcohol on the Properties of ABS and PETG Polymers. Materials, 14. 10.3390/ma14174823

[39]

Popescu, D., Baciu, F., Amza, C.G., Cotrut, C.M., and Marinescu, R. (2021). The Effect of Disinfectants Absorption and Medical Decontamination on the Mechanical Performance of 3D-Printed ABS Parts. Polymers, 13. 10.3390/polym13234249

[40]

Lindsley "Effects of Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVG) on N95 Respirator Filtration Performance and Structural Integrity" J. Occup. Environ. Hyg. (2015) 10.1080/15459624.2015.1018518

[41]

Aerosol and Surface Stability of SARS-CoV-2 as Compared with SARS-CoV-1

Neeltje Van Doremalen, Trenton Bushmaker, Dylan H. Morris et al.

New England Journal of Medicine 2020 10.1056/nejmc2004973

[42]

Stojalowski "Comparison of Reflective Properties of Materials Exposed to Ultraviolet-C Radiation" J. Res. Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. (2021) 10.6028/jres.126.017

[43]

Spicer "Methods and Mechanisms of Photonic Disinfection" J. Res. Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. (2021) 10.6028/jres.126.016

[44]

Plastics–Methods of Exposure to Laboratory Light Sources–Part 3: Fluorescent UV Lamps. Standard No. Standard ISO 4892-3:2016. Available online: https://www.iso.org/standard/67793.html.

[45]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (2023, March 25). Summary of Event and Post-Workshop Activities, Available online: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/events/2020/01/workshop-ultraviolet-disinfection-technologies-healthcare-associated-4.

[46]

(2023, March 25). IUVA Fact Sheet on UV Disinfection for COVID-19. Available online: https://www.iuva.org/IUVA-Fact-Sheet-on-UV-Disinfection-for-COVID-19.

[47]

Additive manufacturing (3D printing): A review of materials, methods, applications and challenges

Tuan D. Ngo, Alireza Kashani, Gabriele Imbalzano et al.

Composites Part B: Engineering 2018 10.1016/j.compositesb.2018.02.012

[48]

Yoshida, S., Lamberti, L., and Sciammarella, C. (2016). Advancement of Optical Methods in Experimental Mechanics, Springer. 10.1007/978-3-319-41600-7

[49]

Arivazhagan "Dynamic mechanical properties of ABS material processed by fused deposition modelling" Int. J. Eng. Res. Appl. (IJERA) (2012)

[50]

Vilas "Effect of Reprocessing and Accelerated Weathering on ABS Properties" J. Environ. Polym. Degrad. (2010) 10.1007/s10924-009-0154-7

Showing 50 of 95 references

Metrics

30

Citations

95

References

Details

Published: Apr 21, 2023
Vol/Issue: 15(8)
Pages: 1966
License: View

Authors

C

Catalin Gheorghe Amza

Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Robotics, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania

A

Aurelian Zapciu

Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Robotics, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania

F

Florin Baciu

Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Robotics, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania

C

Constantin Radu

Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Robotics, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania

Cite This Article

Catalin Gheorghe Amza, Aurelian Zapciu, Florin Baciu, et al. (2023). Effect of UV-C Radiation on 3D Printed ABS-PC Polymers. Polymers, 15(8), 1966. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15081966

Effect of UV-C Radiation on 3D Printed ABS-PC Polymers

You May Also Like