An overview of the transport of liquid molecules through structured polymer films, barriers and composites - Experiments correlated to structure-based simulations

Sofie Gårdebjer; Mikael Larsson; Tobias Gebäck; Marie Skepö; Anette Larsson

doi:10.1016/j.cis.2018.05.004

An overview of the transport of liquid molecules through structured polymer films, barriers and composites - Experiments correlated to structure-based simulations

Adv Colloid Interface Sci. 2018 Jun:256:48-64. doi: 10.1016/j.cis.2018.05.004. Epub 2018 May 25.

Authors

Sofie Gårdebjer¹, Mikael Larsson², Tobias Gebäck³, Marie Skepö¹, Anette Larsson⁴

Affiliations

¹ Lund University, P.O. Box 124, 221 00 Lund, Sweden; SuMo BIOMATERIALS, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden.
² SuMo BIOMATERIALS, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden; School of Energy and Resources, University College London, 220 Victoria Square, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia; Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, SA 5095, Australia.
³ SuMo BIOMATERIALS, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Mathematical Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology and Gothenburg University, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden.
⁴ SuMo BIOMATERIALS, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden; Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address: anette.larsson@chalmers.se.

PMID: 29804691
DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2018.05.004

Abstract

Films engineered to control the transport of liquids are widely used through society. Examples include barriers in packaging, wound care products, and controlled release coatings in pharmaceutics. When observed at the macroscopic scale such films commonly appear homogeneous, however, a closer look reveals a complex nano- and microstructure that together with the chemical properties of the different domains control the transport properties. In this review we compare and discuss macroscopic transport properties, measured using the straightforward, yet highly powerful technique "modified Ussing chambers", also denoted side-by-side diffusion cells, for a wide range of structured polymer films and composites. We also discuss and compare the macroscopic observations and conclusions on materials properties with that of lattice Boltzmann simulations of transport properties based on underlying material structure and chemistry. The survey of the field: (i) highlights the use and power of modified Ussing Chambers for determining liquid transport properties of polymer films, (ii) demonstrates the predictability in both directions between macroscopic observations of transport using modified Ussing chambers and structure-based simulations, and (iii) provides experimental and theoretical insights regarding the transport-determining properties of structured polymer films and composites.

Publication types

Review