Manjinder Singh1,2,Alessio Alexiadis2,Michael Adams2,Gaurav Manik1
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee1,University of Birmingham2
Manjinder Singh1,2,Alessio Alexiadis2,Michael Adams2,Gaurav Manik1
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee1,University of Birmingham2
The adhesive materials used in healthcare sectors for developing adhesive bandages and transdermal patches have been using petro-based components, which cause contact allergy and allergic contact disease, such as dermatitis and stomatitis. In this investigation, linseed oil has been modified to acrylated epoxidized linseed oil (AELO) and acrylated epoxidized methyl ester (AEME) and further used as a low T<sub>g</sub> component to develop bio-based pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) computationally using molecular dynamics simulations. The bulk polymer adhesive properties such as density, solubility parameter, and glass transition temperature have been estimated and compared with previously reported literature. The values for density and solubility parameters for the control system have been closely related to the experimental as well as simulated values reported earlier. The glass transition temperature was observed to be in close proximity to the Fox equation values as well as the reported literature, verifying the simulation protocols adopted. Further, surface properties were evaluated in order to understand the adhesive behavior and estimate the interfacial strength with the substrate. The human skin has been considered as a substrate for analysis to understand the interfacial behavior of PSAs and suitability in healthcare industries. The surface energy of human skin was found to be in range with the experimental value, verifying the human skin model adopted for this study. The surface energy for all the developed systems has been estimated, and the AELO-based PSA surface energy value was found to be the highest among all the PSAs. Moreover, the interfacial adhesion strength of AELO-based PSA with human skin was found to be superior to that of AEME-based and control PSAs. An in-depth analysis suggests that the addition of polar groups in AELO and AEME was governing factor affecting the surface properties positively. This study paves the way for exploring the potential of AELO and AEME to formulate novel PSAs with desirable properties for the healthcare industries.