Abstract
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) have emerged as a promising biodegradable and biocompatible material for scaffold manufacturing in the tissue engineering field and food packaging. Surface modification is usually required to improve cell biocompatibility and/or reduce bacteria proliferation. Picosecond laser ablation was applied for surface micro structuring of short- and medium-chain length-PHAs and its blend. The response of each material as a function of laser energy and wavelength was analyzed. Picosecond pulsed laser modified the surface topography without affecting the material properties. UV wavelength irradiation showed halved ablation thresholds compared to visible (VIS) wavelength, revealing a greater photochemical nature of the ablation process at ultraviolet (UV) wavelength. Nevertheless, the ablation rate and, therefore, ablation efficiency did not show a clear dependence on beam wavelength. The different mechanical behavior of the considered PHAs did not lead to different ablation thresholds on each polymer at a constant wavelength, suggesting the interplay of the material mechanical parameters to equalize ablation thresholds. Blended-PHA showed a significant reduction in the ablation threshold under VIS irradiation respect to the neat PHAs. Picosecond ablation was proved to be a convenient technique for micro structuring of PHAs to generate surface microfeatures appropriate to influence cell behavior and improve the biocompatibility of scaffolds in tissue engineering.
Highlights
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are natural polymers produced by microorganisms, which can be degraded and absorbed by them in natural environments, without toxic effects in living cells or tissues [1,2,3,4,5,6]. These highly biocompatible polymers can be synthesized with different thermal, mechanical, and degradation properties depending on their monomer chain length, selection of microbial production strain, substrates, and processing [7,8,9]. They can be commercially produced in large amounts by fermentation processes of both gram-negative and -positive bacteria in carbon-rich environments
PHAs are thermoplastic polyesters liable to be processed by thermoforming techniques as hot embossing or injection molding [9]. These characteristics made of these polymers an ideal material for scaffold manufacturing in tissue engineering or for food packaging, where new and improved biodegradable materials are needed to replace synthetic polymers obtained from petroleum resources
(poly(3-hydroxy octanoate-co-3-hydroxy decanoate) (P(3HO-3HD)) chain lengths were produced at large scale by means of a bioreactor with a capacity of 72 L using liquid bacterial culture
Summary
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are natural polymers produced by microorganisms, which can be degraded and absorbed by them in natural environments, without toxic effects in living cells or tissues [1,2,3,4,5,6] These highly biocompatible polymers can be synthesized with different thermal, mechanical, and degradation properties depending on their monomer chain length, selection of microbial production strain, substrates, and processing [7,8,9]. PHAs are thermoplastic polyesters liable to be processed by thermoforming techniques as hot embossing or injection molding [9] These characteristics made of these polymers an ideal material for scaffold manufacturing in tissue engineering or for food packaging, where new and improved biodegradable materials are needed to replace synthetic polymers obtained from petroleum resources.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
