• This record comes from PubMed

Microdomain structure in polylactide-block-poly(ethylene oxide) copolymer films

. 2000 Mar ; 21 (5) : 529-36.

Language English Country Netherlands Media print

Document type Comparative Study, Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Structured surface is an important property of polymer biomaterials for tissue engineering, for its capacity to expose domains with different surface energy and functional groups. For this purpose, amphiphilic A-B-A block copolymers with polylactide (PLA) as A blocks and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO 3, Mn = 3090; PEO6, Mn = 6110) as B block were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of either L-lactide (L-LA) or DL-lactide (DL-LA), using poly(ethylene glycol)s as macroinitiators and tin(II) octanoate (Sn(Oct)2) as a catalyst. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and electron microscopy were used to study the phase separation of the hydrophobic (PLA) and hydrophilic (PEO) segments in films made of the copolymers and their blends with high-molecular-weight PLA homopolymers. Hydrophilic (PEO) and hydrophobic (PLA) domains were formed at the polymer film surface due to the separation of phases. The phase separation was affected by the copolymer composition and the stereoregularity of PLA blocks in the copolymers.

References provided by Crossref.org

Find record

Citation metrics

Loading data ...

Archiving options

Loading data ...