Development of 70/30 Poly-L-DL-Lactic Acid Filaments for 3D Printers (Part 2): Mechanical and Surface Properties of Bioabsorbable Printed Plates for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

The mechanical, chemical, roughness and wettability properties of 70/30 poly (L,DL-lactide acid) three-dimensional (3D)-printed surgical plates made with extruded polymer filaments developed in the first part of this work were investigated. The plates were printed with horizontal (HRZ) and vertical (VRT) running layer orientations and evaluated by tensile, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), optical perfilometry and wettability tests before and after degradation in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 21 days. The results show that the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of HRZ plates before immersion in SBF was higher (34.1 MPa) than that of VRT plates (31.8 MPa). The Young’s modulus (E) of HRZ plates and VRT plates are similar (4 GPa). After immersion in SBF, the UTS of HRZ plates dropped to 20.5 MPa and E decreased to 3.3 GPa. VRT were not tested after SBF immersion due to the large degradation. FTIR analysis showed no evidence of chemical change in the plates after immersion in SBF. The roughness parameter R3z of VRT surfaces (19.54 µm) was higher than that of the HRZ surfaces (12.80 µm). The roughness parameters increased after degradation in SBF (p = 0.7048). The contact angles of HRZ surfaces before immersion in SBF (66.28°) were higher than after immersion in SBF (18.12°); the same behavior was also observed in VRT plates.