Melt Processed Polymer Blends for Potential Regenerative Medicine Applications

2014 ◽  
Vol 679 ◽  
pp. 92-100
Author(s):  
Elaine Kenny ◽  
Declan M. Devine ◽  
Clement L. Higginbotham ◽  
Luke M. Geever

There is an urgent and unmet requirement for biocompatible and biodegradable implants that gradually resorb when implanted in vivo. This study examines the potential of melt extruded thermoplastics polyethylene oxide (PEO) and polycaprolactone (PCL) in the area of regenerative medicine. Various ratios of PEO and PCL were melt blended and analysed in order to obtain an optimised breakdown rate. Subsequently the effect of varying the molecular weight of PCL using a constant molecular weight PEO was also examined. Samples were characterised using melt flow index (MFI), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and breakdown analysis. It was found that by altering both the concentrations of PEO/PCL and the molecular weight of PCL, melt viscosity, breakdown rate and thermal properties could be modulated to produce potential implant materials with a tailored breakdown rate.

Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 390
Author(s):  
Fernando Luiz Lavoie ◽  
Marcelo Kobelnik ◽  
Clever Aparecido Valentin ◽  
Érica Fernanda da Silva Tirelli ◽  
Maria de Lurdes Lopes ◽  
...  

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembranes are polymeric geosynthetic materials usually applied as a liner in environmental facilities due to their good mechanical properties, good welding conditions, and excellent chemical resistance. A geomembrane’s field performance is affected by different conditions and exposures, including ultraviolet radiation, thermal and oxidative exposure, and chemical contact. This article presents an experimental study with a 1.0 mm-thick HDPE virgin geomembrane exposed by the Xenon arc weatherometer for 2160 h and the ultraviolet fluorescent weatherometer for 8760 h to understand the geomembrane’s behavior under ultraviolet exposure. The evaluation was performed using the melt flow index (MFI) test, oxidative-induction time (OIT) tests, tensile test, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. The sample exposed in the Xenon arc equipment showed a tendency to increase the MFI values during the exposure time. This upward trend may indicate morphological changes in the polymer. The tensile behavior analysis showed a tendency of the sample to lose ductility, without showing brittle behavior. The samples’ OIT test results under both device exposures showed faster antioxidant depletion for the standard OIT test than the high-pressure OIT test. The DSC and FTIR analyses did not demonstrate the polymer’s changes.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 2134
Author(s):  
Sandra Paszkiewicz ◽  
Izabela Irska ◽  
Iman Taraghi ◽  
Elżbieta Piesowicz ◽  
Jakub Sieminski ◽  
...  

The effect of the presence of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) and silane-treated alumina trihydrate (ATH-sil) nanofillers on the mechanical, thermal, and flame retardancy properties of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer/low-density polyethylene (LDPE) blends was investigated. Different weight percentages of HNT and ATH-sil nanoparticles, as well as the hybrid system of those nanofillers, were melt mixed with the polymer blend (reference sample) using a twin-screw extruder. The morphology of the nanoparticles and polymer compositions was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The mechanical properties, hardness, water absorption, and melt flow index (MFI) of the compositions were assessed. The tensile strength increases as a function of the amount of HNT nanofiller; however, the elongation at break decreases. In the case of the hybrid system of nanofillers, the compositions showed superior mechanical properties. The thermal properties of the reference sample and those of the corresponding sample with nanofiller blends were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Two peaks were observed in the melting and crystallization temperatures. This shows that the EVA/LDPE is an immiscible polymer blend. The thermal stability of the blends was improved by the presence of HNTs and ATH-sil nanoparticles. Thermal degradation temperatures were shifted to higher values by the presence of hybrid nanofillers. Finally, the flammability of the compositions was assessed. Flammability as reflected by the limiting oxygen index (OI) was increased by the presence of HNT and ATH-sil nanofiller and a hybrid system of the nanoparticles.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1242
Author(s):  
Olga Mysiukiewicz ◽  
Paulina Kosmela ◽  
Mateusz Barczewski ◽  
Aleksander Hejna

Investigations related to polymer/metal composites are often limited to the analysis of the electrical and thermal conductivity of the materials. The presented study aims to analyze the impact of aluminum (Al) filler content (from 1 to 20 wt%) on the rarely investigated properties of composites based on the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) matrix. The crystalline structure, rheological (melt flow index and oscillatory rheometry), thermal (differential scanning calorimetry), as well as static (tensile tests, hardness, rebound resilience) and dynamic (dynamical mechanical analysis) mechanical properties of composites were investigated. The incorporation of 1 and 2 wt% of aluminum filler resulted in small enhancements of mechanical properties, while loadings of 5 and 10 wt% provided materials with a similar performance to neat HDPE. Such results were supported by the lack of disturbances in the rheological behavior of composites. The presented results indicate that a significant content of aluminum filler may be introduced into the HDPE matrix without additional pre-treatment and does not cause the deterioration of composites’ performance, which should be considered beneficial when engineering PE/metal composites.


e-Polymers ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Pucci ◽  
Letizia Moretto ◽  
Giacomo Ruggeri ◽  
Francesco Ciardelli

AbstractA new polyethylene-compatible terthiophene chromophore, 5”-thio-(3- butyl)nonyl-2,2’:5’,2”-terthiophene, with melting point lower than 0°C was prepared and used for linear polarizers based on ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). Differential scanning calorimetry and scanning electron microscopy indicate that the new chromophore is dispersed uniformly in films of UHMWPE obtained by casting from solution. The films show excellent dichroic properties (dichroic ratio 30) at rather low drawing ratio (≈ 20) . Moreover, qualitative agreement is observed with the Ward pseudo-affine deformation scheme.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (9) ◽  
pp. 771-781
Author(s):  
Janne van Gisbergen ◽  
Jaap den Doelder

AbstractRecycling of thermoplastic polymers is an important element of sustainable circular economy practices. The quality of mechanically recycled polymers is a concern. A method is presented to predict the structure and processability of recycled blends of polymers based on processability knowledge of their virgin precursor components. Blending rules at molecular weight distribution level are well established and form the foundation of the new method. Two essential fundamental building blocks are combined with this foundation. First, component and blend structure are related to viscosity via tube theories. Second, viscosity is related to melt flow index via a continuum mechanics approach. Emulator equations are built based on virtual experimental designs for fast forward and reverse calculations directly relating structure to viscosity and processability. The new combined method is compared with empirical blend rules, and shows important similarities and also clear quantitative differences. Finally, the new method is applied to practical recycling quality challenges.


2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 986-1002 ◽  
Author(s):  
MR Islam ◽  
A Gupta ◽  
M Rivai ◽  
MDH Beg

Composites were prepared from recycled polypropylene (RPP), oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) and/or glass fibre (GF) using extrusion and injection moulding techniques. Two types of maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene such as Polybond 3200 and Fusabond P 613 were used to improve the interfacial adhesion between fibres and matrix. The EFB: GF ratio was fixed as 70:30 and fibre loading was considered as 40 wt%. Microwave was used to treat the EFB fibre, which was soaked in a fixed mass concentration (12.5%) of alkali solution at different temperatures (70, 80 and 90°C) for a fixed period of time (60 min) and for different times (60, 90 and 120 min) at a fixed temperature (90°C). A magnetron controller was developed to control the time and temperature accurately for the treatment of fibre. Various characterization techniques such as density, melt flow index, tensile, Izod impact, flexural, field-emission scanning electron microscopy and water uptake testing were performed for the composites. Besides, thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry were also used to evaluate the thermal and crystalline properties of the composites, respectively. Result analyses revealed that microwave-treated fibre-based composites showed improved mechanical and thermal properties. EFB fibres treated at 90°C for 90 min were found to be suitable for better reinforcement into the composite in terms of mechanical, thermal and crystalline properties. Moreover, onset degradation temperature and water absorption properties were also found to be changed apparently due to treatment.


Author(s):  
Rupinder Singh ◽  
Gurchetan Singh ◽  
Jaskaran Singh ◽  
Ranvijay Kumar ◽  
Md Mustafizur Rahman ◽  
...  

In this experimental study, a composite of poly-ether-ketone-ketone by reinforcement of hydroxyapatite and chitosan has been prepared for possible applications as orthopaedic scaffolds. Initially, different weight percentages of hydroxyapatite and chitosan were reinforced in the poly-ether-ketone-ketone matrix and tested for melt flow index in order to check the flowability of different compositions/proportions. Suitable compositions revealed by the melt flow index test were then taken forward for the extrusion of filament required for fused deposition modelling. For thermomechanical investigations, Taguchi-based design of experiments has been used with input variables in the extrusion process as follows: temperature, load applied and different composition/proportions. The specimens in the form of feedstock filament produced by the extrusion process were made to undergo tensile testing. The specimens were also inspected by differential scanning calorimetry and photomicrographs. Finally, the specimen showing the best performance from the thermomechanical viewpoint has been selected to extrude the filament for the fused deposition modelling process.


1993 ◽  
Vol 47 (10) ◽  
pp. 1636-1642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy A. Burkhardt ◽  
Joseph A. Gardella

The effects of homopolymer molecular weight on the miscibility of PVC/PMMA solvent cast blends were studied. Two significantly different molecular weights were chosen for each of the homopolymers, and a series of blends was prepared from the four possible homopolymer-homopolymer combinations. Angle-dependent ESCA results suggest that the surfaces of the blends are enriched with PMMA. The extent of this enrichment is dependent on molecular weight, with the most enrichment seen in blends containing the lower-molecular-weight PMMA homopolymer. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results are also presented.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document