Synthesis, Characterization And Optimization Of Nanocomposite Scaffold Using Poly Lactide/Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes
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Date
2011-05
Authors
Jelodar, Hassan Adeli
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
Poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) scaffolds have been widely used in tissue engineering in order to regenerate the skin, bone, cartilage, ligament and etc. PLLA has the advantages of biodegradability, a controllable degradation rate, good thermal properties and biocompatibility. It can be produced from renewable resources, and it is nontoxic to humans and the environment. However, most of the three dimensional (3D) scaffolds made by PLLA have relatively poor mechanical properties and they are unable to meet the requirements for certain applications. A common method of improving the mechanical properties of a polymer matrix is to incorporate fillers into the polymer as a reinforcement agent. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are considered to be an ideal reinforcing agent due to their unique properties. The incorporation of MWCNTs in a polymer matrix leads to remarkably improved properties of the polymer. Therefore, the aim of this project was to investigate the synthesis, characterization and optimization of the novel poly(L-lactide)/multi-walled carbon nanotube (PLLA/MWCNT) porous scaffolds prepared by the freeze-extraction method for tissue engineering application. Several characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis (FTIR) were used to evaluate the morphological, thermal, structural and mechanical properties of the scaffolds. The obtained scaffolds showed well-distributed and interconnected porous structures with more than 80% porosity
and median pore size around 40 μm distributed within a region between 50 and 150 μm in size.
Description
Keywords
Optimization of nanocomposite scaffold , using poly lactide/multi-walled carbon nanotubes