Accelerated degradation behaviour of poly(epsilon-caprolactone) via melt blending with poly(aspartic acid-co-lactide) (PAL)

Uel Little, Fraser Buchanan, Eileen Harkin-Jones, Mervyn McCaigue, David Farrar, Glenn Dickson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) has many favourable attributes for tissue engineering scaffold applications. A major drawback, however, is its slow degradation rate, typically greater than 3 years. In this study PCL was melt blended with a small percentage of poly(aspartic acid-co-lactide) (PAL) and the degradation behaviour was evaluated in phosphate buffer solution (PBS) at 37 degrees C. The addition of PAL was found to significantly enhance the degradation profile of PCL. Subsequent degradation behaviour was investigated in terms of the polymer's mechanical properties, Molecular weight (M-w), mass changes and thermal characteristics. The results indicate that the addition of PAL accelerates the degradation of PCL, with 20% mass loss recorded after just 7 months in vitro for samples containing 8 wt% PAL. The corresponding pure PCL samples exhibited no mass loss over the same time period. In vitro assessment of PCL and PCL/PAL composites in tissue Culture medium in the absence of cells revealed stable pH readings with time. SEM studies of cell/biomaterial interactions demonstrated biocompatibility of C3H10T1/2 cells with PCL and PCL/PAL composites at all concentrations of PAL additive. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)213-220
Number of pages8
JournalPolymer Degradation and Stability
Volume94
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2009

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Materials Chemistry
  • Polymers and Plastics
  • Condensed Matter Physics

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