Characterization of copper corrosion products originated in simulated uterine fluids and on packaged intrauterine devices.

This paper studies the characterization of corrosion products originated after 1 and 12 weeks' immersion of copper specimens in simulated uterine fluids at pH 6.3 and 8.0 and at 37 degrees C temperature. The experimental techniques used were X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray. The compounds found were calcite (CaCO3), calcium phosphate, cuprite (Cu2O) and copper hydroxide (Cu(OH)2). The morphology of corrosion products was a non-uniform, layer showing some paths through which copper ions can be released. In parallel, corrosion products formed on packaged, unused copper-containing intrauterine devices (IUD) were analyzed. Cuprite (Cu2O) and chalcocite (Cu2S) were the main species identified. Copyright 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers