Investigation of the impact of cold plasma treatment on the chemical composition and wettability of medical grade polyvinylchloride

The impact of the Corona, dielectric barrier discharge, and low pressure radiofrequency air plasmas on the chemical composition and wettability of medical grade polyvinylchloride was investigated. Corona plasma treatment exerted the most pronounced increase in the hydrophilization of polyvinylchloride. The specific energy of adhesion of the pristine and plasma-treated Polyvinylchloride (PVC) tubing is reported. Plasma treatment increased markedly the specific free surface energy of PVC. The kinetics of hydrophobic recovery following plasma treatment was explored. The time evolution of the apparent contact angle under the hydrophobic recovery is satisfactorily described by the exponential fitting. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy of the chemical composition of the near-surface layers of the plasma-treated catheters revealed their oxidation. The effect of the hydrophobic recovery hardly correlated with oxidation of the polymer surface, which is irreversible and it is reasonably attributed to the bulk mobility of polymer chains.