Investigations on the compatibilization between poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/poly(trimethylene carbonate) blends and poly(lactide-co-trimethylene carbonate)

Abstract

In this study, the effect of different contents of poly(lactide-co-trimethylene carbonate) (PLT) as a compatibilizer on the blends of PLGA and PTMC has been investigated. The PLGA/PTMC/PLT ternary composites were prepared by using the solution co-precipitation method. The PLT component played a very important role in determining internal structure, and thermal, mechanical, and hydrophilic properties of whole composites. Our results showed that the PLT addition made the glass transition temperature of PLGA and PTMC close to that of each other and improved their compatibility. When the amount of PLT addition was 3 wt%, the two-phase interface of the composite fracture surface almost disappeared, which further demonstrated that PLT could improve the interfacial compatibility of PLGA and PTMC. The tensile strength and tensile modulus and the elongation of the PLGA/PTMC/PLT composites were 54.01 ± 2.1 MPa, 1.11 ± 0.05 GPa, 49.29 ± 3.6% respectively after the 3 wt% random copolymers was added. The results of XRD and POM showed that the crystalline morphology of the composites was spherocrystal, where the second crystalline phase was not found. Interestingly, PLT reduced the hydrophilicity of PLGA/PTMC/PLT composites. In conclusion, PLGA/PTMC/PLT composites are expected to have a fascinating role in the field of bone defect repair.