Journal
ACTA BIOMATERIALIA
Volume 3, Issue 1, Pages 69-76Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2006.07.004
Keywords
microhardness; starch blends; swelling; in vitro degradation; mechanical properties
Ask authors/readers for more resources
In this work the variation of the surface mechanical properties of starch-based biomaterials with immersion time was followed using microhardness measurements. Two blends with very distinct water uptake capabilities, starch/cellulose acetate (SCA) and starch/poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (SPCL), were immersed in a phosphate buffer solution (PBS) at 37.5 degrees C for various times. The microhardness of the blends decreased significantly (similar to 50% for SPCL and similar to 94% for SCA), within a time period of 30 days of immersion, reflecting the different hydrophilic character of the synthetic components of the blends. The dependence of microhardness on the applied loading time and load was also analysed and showed a power law dependency for SCA. Water uptake and weight loss measurements were performed for the same immersion times used in the microhardness experiments. The different swelling/degradation behaviour presented by the blends was related to the respective variation in microhardness. Moreover, complementary characterization of the mechanical properties of SCA and SPCL was accomplished by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and creep measurements. Microhardness measurements proved to be a useful technique for characterizing the mechanical behaviour near the surface of polymeric biomaterials, including in simulated physiological conditions. (C) 2006 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available