Thermo-Sensitive Poly(p-dioxanone) Banded Spherulites with Controllable Patterns for Iridescence

Poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO) is widely recognized to be a bioabsorbable material for biomedical applications, and its crystalline morphology is dependent on the crystallization temperature and polymorphism. The PPDO ringless spherulite (RLS, at Tc = 30-40 degrees C) has a mixture of alpha '- and alpha-crystals, while the alpha-crystal is predominant in the ring-banded spherulite (RBS) (Tc = 60- 78 degrees C). The interior structure of PPDO-RBS is characterized by microbeam X-ray and interior-dissected morphology analysis. The double ring-banded RBS consists of horizontal lamellae beneath valleys and vertical lamellae in the ridges. Optimal band spacing and the ridge-valley height difference produce photonic iridescence colors in PPDO-RBS at 60-70 degrees C. Additionally, ring-band growth patterns can be customized from 2.9 to 10.9 mu m by tuning the temperature program. Thus, custom tailoring the crystal growth produces multiple and versatile combinations of ring banded patterns in a wide range of orders for inducing the photonic reflection

Automated summary

Poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO) is a bioabsorbable material commonly used in biomedical applications, with its crystal morphology dependent on temperature and polymorphism. PPDO can form ringless spherulites (RLS) and ring-banded spherulites (RBS) depending on the temperature, each with different crystal structures. The interior structure of PPDO-RBS consists of horizontal and vertical lamellae, and the growth patterns of ring bands can be customized.