Cyanoacrylate pressure systems

Autoclave sterilization is one of the most difficult common sterilization environments for a medical adhesive, and it is commonly used in hospitals and health care facilities for reusable devices. Autoclaves sterilize with high-pressure steam. Temperatures inside the sterilization chamber typically can reach 130°C with pressures above ambient. Certain adhesive systems, such as polyurethanes, may show hydrolytic degradation in such environments especially after multiple cycles. Epoxies perform the best under multiple autoclave exposures. However, on certain substrates, light-cured acrylics and cyanoacrylates will also perform fairly well. 

Acrylic adhesives first appeared about 1937 the acrylic resins may be considered as belonging to the vinyl family [1, p. 305], Today, acrylic adhesives appear in many forms as both pressure-sensitive and non-pressure sensitive formulations in organic solvent and emulsion forms as monomer and polymer cements as anaerobics as cyanoacrylates as so-called reactive or honeymoon two-part systems and as radiation curing formulations. Commercial production of acrylic polymers began in the late 1920s, but it was not until 1958 that the first aerylie sealant was developed [10, p. 226]. The solvent-based acrylic sealants were first introdueed to the eonstruction industry in about 1960 ... 

Adhesives and sealants are manufactured from a variety of polymers. Their selection and their combinations used impact solvent selection. Most solvent systems are designed to optimize the solubility of the primary polymer. Adhesives can be divided into ones which bond by chemical reaction and ones which bond due to physical processes. Chemically reactive adhesives are further divided into three more categories for those that bond through polymerization, polyaddition, or polycondensation. Physically bonding adhesives include pressure sensitive and contact adhesives, melt, or solution adhesives, and plastisols. Polymerization adhesives are composed of cyanoacrylates (no solvents), anaerobic adhesives (do not contain solvents but require primers for plastics and some metals which are solutions of copper naphthenate), UV-curable adhesives (solvent-free compositions of polyurethanes and epoxy), rubber modified adhesives (variety solvents discussed below). 

The adhesive is put under pressure and the dispense valve is opened for a certain time to provide the correct quantity of adhesive (see Figure 10.15). Since the cyanoacrylate contacts the pressurised air, the dryness of the air is important and an air filter on the mains air line is recommended. A pressure/time system is best suited for cyanoacrylates up to a viscosity of 5,000 mPa-s, i.e., self levelling products. 

An atmospheric pressure plasma ion bombardment treater together with an atmospheric CO2 composite snow spray cleaning module (see Figure 7.9) was positioned above an un-treated low density polyethylene (LDPE) material used in microelectronic devices (for use within military and aerospace electronic systems) for surface pretreatment prior to application of a Loctite 401 cyanoacrylate adhesive, and separately a Loctite 3553 light-cure acrylic adhesive. 

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