Influence of fiber diameter and crystallinity on the stability of electrospun poly(L-lactic acid) membranes to hydrolytic degradation

Hydrolytic degradation of electrospun mats of poly(L-lactic acid), PLLA, as a function of crystallinity and fiber diameter has been studied. The degradation in a saline phosphate buffer solution (PBS) up to 20 weeks produced a slight decrease in the sample mass but a clear decrease of the polymer av...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dias, J. C. (author)
Other Authors: Ribeiro, C. (author), Sencadas, Vítor João Gomes Silva (author), Botelho, Gabriela (author), Gómez Ribelles, J. L. (author), Lanceros-Méndez, S. (author)
Format: article
Language:eng
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Poly (L-lactic acid)
Electrospun nanofibers
In-vitro degradation
Viscosity average molecular weight
Science & Technology
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1822/22647
Country:Portugal
Oai:oai:repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt:1822/22647
Description
Summary:Hydrolytic degradation of electrospun mats of poly(L-lactic acid), PLLA, as a function of crystallinity and fiber diameter has been studied. The degradation in a saline phosphate buffer solution (PBS) up to 20 weeks produced a slight decrease in the sample mass but a clear decrease of the polymer average molecular weight in the amorphous fibers. The aforementioned effect decreases as crystallinity increases. Important for applications is that morphological characteristics of the membranes such as average fiber diameter and membrane porosity are also affected by the degradation process. Fiber diameter increases while membrane porosity decreases, resulting in closer packed fibers due to the release of internal tensions related to the electrospinning and/or thermal treatment processes.

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