Enhancement of chemical, physical, and surface properties of electrospun PCL/PLA blends by means of air plasma treatment

Polycaprolactone (PCL) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) are polymers with unique individual features, but their mixing can produce a new biodegradable material with well-balanced properties, although with a disadvantage that both are highly hydrophobic materials. To improve this drawback, electrospun PCL/PLA blends with various weight ratios were superficially modified by air plasma. The changes undergone by the nanofibers were characterized using spectroscopic and microscopic techniques; water contact angle (WCA) was also determined. We demonstrated that the electrospun PCL/PLA blends did not suffer morphological changes, although it was observed an increase in the roughness and the O/C ratio (by XPS analysis) and, decrease in WCA values, when the PCL content dominates in the blend after the treatment. The surface characteristics of the scaffolds PCL/PLA blends can be improved after modification with plasma and by tuning the content of its components.

Automated summary

Polycaprolactone (PCL) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) are two polymers with unique properties, and their blending can produce a new biodegradable material with balanced properties. However, both PCL and PLA are highly hydrophobic materials. The surface characteristics of electrospun PCL/PLA blends can be improved by air plasma treatment and adjusting the content of its components.