Synthesis and Properties of the Porous Collagen/Polyurethane Composite

Abstract

This study evaluates the synthesis and properties of the macroporous composite based on castor oil polyurethane (PU) and collagen. The PU prepolymer was prepared by reacting poly ether diol (Terathane 1400) with aliphatic 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate. The prepolymers were chain-extended with castor oil as a trifunctional crosslinker, at stoichiometric ratios. Films of the composite were prepared by blending PU resin with collagen (0-15 wt%), and the composite’s mechanical and surface properties were measured. Intermolecular interactions in the PU-collagen composite have been studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and mechanical measurements. Macroporous PU-collagen composite films were prepared so that there would be a region with circular pores and one that remained nonporous. The composites were also flexible having breaking strains of 70-250% and tensile strengths of 1.7-3 MPa depending on the collagen content. The water contact angle was measured to evaluate the hydrophilicity of the PU-collagen composite surface, and the result indicated that the presence of collagen improves the hydrophilicity of the composite. Macroporous PU-collagen blends enable the production of materials with two regions that have a potential biomedical application.