Abstract
Poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) was blended with various contents of poly(para-dioxanone) (PPDO; 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt%) by solution co-precipitation to modify the degradation characteristics of PLLA. As PPDO degrades rapidly, it can be advantageously used in blends with PLLA. The in vitro hydrolytic degradation of the PLLA/PPDO blends was studied by weight loss (WL) analysis, water absorption (WA), the thermal properties, the surface morphology and the mechanical properties of the samples in phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.44) at 37 °C over 8 weeks. During the degradation process, the WL and WA increased significantly for all blends and a fenestral structure with defects was formed on the surface of blend bars as degradation progressed. Meanwhile, the glass transition temperature (T g), melting temperature (T m), tensile strength and breaking elongation of the blends decreased with time, whereas the hydrolysis rate of the blends varied with the blend composition. Compared with PLLA, PLLA/PPDO blends exhibited a higher hydrolysis rate.
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