Crystallisation behaviour and biocompatibility of poly(butylene succinate)/poly(lactic acid) composites

Biodegradable poly(butylene succinate) (PBS)/poly(lactic acid) (PLA) composites were prepared by melt compounding. Differential scanning calorimetry and wide angle X-ray diffraction were used to characterise PBS, PBS/PLA composites and PLA in terms of their non-isothermal crystallisation, melting behaviour, isothermal crystallisation kinetics, spherulitic morphology and crystal structure. The results show that the addition of PLA has a slight heterogeneous nucleation effect on the crystallisation of PBS, particularly in the case of PBS/PLA ratios of 90 : 10 and 80 : 20. Hence, the crystallisation rate is enhanced during both non-isothermal and isothermal crystallisation of the composites. However, the crystal form of PBS is free from the addition of PLA. L929 fibroblasts cells were chosen to assess the cytocompatibility, and it is found that the cell growth in the neat PBS is similar to that in the PBS/PLA composites.