Comparative Properties of Ethyl, n -Butyl, and n -Octyl Cyanoacrylate Bioadhesives Intended for Wound Closure - Biologically Responsive Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering - page 104

after polymerization of the cyanoacrylate the intensity of the CH 3 group decreased,
the intensity of the band due to the cyanoacrylate group was strongly reduced, and
two intense new bands at 856 and 1,240 cm −1 due to C-O-C groups appeared. The
thermal properties of the cyanoacrylate polymers also differed from those of the
corresponding monomers. In general, the temperature at which decomposition was
produced increased by increasing the length of the alkyl hydrocarbon chain of the
cyanoacrylate. Whereas the ECN polymer showed a unique thermal decomposition
at 199 °C, both the n -butyl and n -octyl cyanoacrylate polymers showed two thermal
decompositions corresponding to two different structures. The SEM micrograph of
the ECN polymer showed a homogeneous and smooth surface, whereas the n -butyl
and, more markedly, the n -octyl cyanoacrylate polymers had a heterogeneous topog-
raphy consisting in shredded polymer chains. This is in agreement with the loss in
elastic modulus and cohesion of the cyanoacrylate by increasing the length of the
alkyl hydrocarbon chain [ 16 ] .
Adhesion of the cyanoacrylate adhesives was obtained from single lap-shear
tests of aluminum/cyanoacrylate and pig skin/cyanoacrylate adhesive joints. The
single lap-shear strength values decreased by increasing the length of the alkyl
hydrocarbon chain, likely due to an increase in the molecular weight from ethyl to
n -octyl cyanoacrylate. The values obtained in the joints produced with ethyl and
n -butyl cyanoacrylates were high and sufficient to maintain the tissues jointed
during wound closure.
Acknowledgements Financial support of the Spanish Research Funding Agency (MICYNN)—
PET2008-0264 and MAT2009-10234 projects—is acknowledged. Authors thank Mr. Juan Carlos
Lillo-Garrigós for pig skin supply and Mr. Javier Martínez-Aniorte for helping with adhesion tests.
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