Osmotic-driven mass transport of water: Impact on the adhesiveness of hydrophilic polymers

Adhesion is an important property for the functionality of many medical devices. One reason for the development of adhesive forces is dehydration caused by mass transport of water. Osmotic pressure is one main driving force for mass transport and the correlation between osmotic pressure and adhesive force has not been studied yet, which was the aim of the present study. A model system was used where a Carbopol tablet was lowered onto a 1% (w/w) agarose gel. The force required to detach the tablet (adhesive force) and the weight gain of the tablet (as a measure of transported water) were determined. Sodium chloride and mannitol were added to the agarose gel to decrease the osmotic pressure difference between the agarose gel and the partially hydrated Carbopol tablet. This resulted in a decrease of both mass transport and adhesive force. In addition, experiments with restricted water transport within the agarose gel were performed by preparing gels with different agarose concentrations. An increase of the agarose concentration resulted in decreased water transport and higher adhesive forces. Hence, the results confirmed our hypothesis that osmotic-driven mass transport and restricted mass transport of water correlate very well with the adhesive force.

Water mass transport (J) from an agarose gel into a Carbopol tablet controlled by the mutual diffusion constant (D) and differences in osmotic pressure (π1 and π2) generates adhesion.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide