Additive blooming in polymer materials: Consequences in the pharmaceutical and medical field

This article presents a comprehensive review of scientific literature concerning the blooming of additives on the surface of polymers, a phenomenon that depends on the solubility of an additive in a polymer and occurs in a time that depends on the diffusion coefficient of the additive in the polymer. Blooming is an important phenomenon as its occurrence can modify the material properties and lower its resistance to degradation. We report the parameters that influence the occurrence of blooming such as temperature, polymer morphology, additive shape and size. We also highlight the main fields in which the blooming was studied, the consequences of blooming on the material properties and the various characterization methods that are able to analyze the blooming phenomenon in situ. We focused next on the biomedical field, as blooming of additives on the surface of medical devices, especially those that are implanted or in contact with body fluids, can impact the device biocompatibility and represent a risk for the patient.