Abstract
Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) has been proposed to be a potential candidate to be used as biomaterial. However, its poor processability, high brittleness and rigidity have limited its applicability. Transesterification reactions with poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL), one of the most promising biomedical materials, emerge as an attractive alternative to improve its mechanical properties. In this work, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-b-e-caprolactone) (PHB-b-PCL) was prepared straightforwardly by transesterification of the parent homopolymers by reactive extrusion in the presence of stannous octanoate. After purification by solvent fractionation, PHB-b-PCL was characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of carbon (13C NMR) and hydrogen (1H NMR) and, subsequently, submitted to electrospinning. The results indicate that PHB was modified, showing lower crystallinity as compared to the original homopolymers. The electrospun mats are tough and flexible and analysis by scanning electron microscopy indicates the formation of uniformly smooth morphology with average fiber diameter of 900-1200 nm and voids in the range between a few microns up to a few tens of microns, suitable for cell diffusion in biomedical applications.
Highlights
Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) has been presented as one of the most environmentally friendly polymers to substitute non-biodegradable polymers in commercial applications
In the PHB spectrum, the peak observed at about 1380 cm−1 is related to the symmetrical wagging of CH3 group, the same observed in the PHB-b-PCL spectrum
The PHB-b-PCL spectrum shows a strong presence of PCL in the copolymer structure indicated by the more intense bands related to the CH2 bond at 2900 cm−1 and 1380 cm−1
Summary
Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) has been presented as one of the most environmentally friendly polymers to substitute non-biodegradable polymers in commercial applications. Impallomeni et al.[20] synthesized the copolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrateco‐ε‐caprolactone) (PHB-co-PCL) by transesterification of homopolymers, conducted in solution, in the presence By copolymerizing PHB with PCL, a biodegradable and biocompatible material with enhanced mechanical properties and processability should be expected, increasing PHB applicability in tissue engineering.
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