Thermal and Thermomechanical Behaviour of Polycaprolactone and Starch/Polycaprolactone Blends for Biomedical Applications

Polycaprolactone (PCL) and starch/PCL blends (SPCL) are shown to have the potential to be used in a range of biomedical applications and can be processed with conventional melting‐based procedures. In this paper, the thermal and thermomechanical analyses of PCL and SPCL were performed, using DSC, op...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Macromolecular materials and engineering 2005-08, Vol.290 (8), p.792-801
Main Authors: Wang, Yaming, Rodriguez-Perez, Miguel A., Reis, Rui L., Mano, João F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
blends
crystallization
Exact sciences and technology
Natural polymers
Physicochemistry of polymers
polycaprolactone
starch
Starch and polysaccharides
thermal behavior
thermomechanical behavior
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Summary:Polycaprolactone (PCL) and starch/PCL blends (SPCL) are shown to have the potential to be used in a range of biomedical applications and can be processed with conventional melting‐based procedures. In this paper, the thermal and thermomechanical analyses of PCL and SPCL were performed, using DSC, optical microscopy and DMA. Starch effectively increased the non‐isothermal crystallisation rate of PCL. Non‐isothermal crystallisation kinetics was analyzed using Ozawa model, and a method, which combines the theories of Avrami and Ozawa. Starch effectively reinforced PCL and enhanced its damping properties, which indicated that SPCL could be more suitable than PCL in some biomedical applications, as it might help in the dissipation of the mechanical energy generated by the patient movements. Dynamic mechanical behaviour of PCL and SPCL at 1 Hz.
ISSN:1438-7492
1439-2054
DOI:10.1002/mame.200500003