Morphology Evolution of Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and Polyethylene Oxide (PEO) Ternary Blend and Their Effects on Mechanical Properties for Bio Scaffold Applications

Ternary blends of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) were produced with different concentrations of components via melt blending. By leaching the PEO from the samples by water, porous materials were obtained with potential application for bio scaffolds. Sample porosity was evaluated by calculating the ratio of porous scaffold density (rho*) to the non-porous material density (rho(s)). Highest porosity (51.42%) was related to the samples containing 50 wt%. of PEO. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies showed the best porosity resulted by decreasing PLLA/PCL ratio at constant concentration of PEO. Crystallization behavior of the ternary blend samples was studied using differential scanning calorimetty (DSC). Results revealed that the crystallinity of PLLA was improved by addition of PEO and PCL to the samples. The porosity plays a key role in governing the compression properties. Mechanical properties are presented by Gibson-Ashby model.