Preparation and Characterisation of Polylactic Acid (PLA)/Polycaprolactone (PCL) Composite Microfibre Membranes

Biodegradable polymers like PLA and PCL have wide application in tissue engineering because of their biocompatibility, degradation and mechanical properties. In this study, the optimised electrospinning parameters of PLA/PCL composite membranes were determined with scanning electron microscopy to obtain smooth and relatively fine microfibre. The properties and structure of electrospinning PLA, PCL and PLA/PCL(70/30) membranes were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), the water contact angle, water absorption degree and tensile strength. The results revealed that PLA/PCL composite membranes possessed better mechanical and hydrophilic properties when compared to single component micro fibre membranes like PLA and PCL. The improvements above are conducive to microfibre membrane application in the biomedical sector.