The influence of the preparation conditions and filler content on thermal properties of poly-l -lactide and hydroxyapatite/poly-l -lactide nanocomposite

Abstract

Poly‐l‐lactide (PLLA) and hydroxyapatite/poly‐l‐lactide (HAp/PLLA) are two widely used biomaterials for three‐dimensional scaffolds, drug release matrices and implantable medical devices for reparation of bone tissue; diversity in the initial preparation and filler content has a significant influence on different properties such as morphology and crystallinity, thus playing a considerable role in most of these applications. For this reason, PLLA and HAp/PLLA samples with a large difference in crystallinity (from below 20% to over 70%) and filler content (up to 86 wt% of HAp nanoparticles with an average diameter of 80 nm) were prepared and consequent dissimilarities in morphology, crystallinity and thermal properties were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) measurements and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Special attention was devoted to analyzing data obtained from thermal measurements. A three‐phase model was employed in order to describe the heat capacity step decline in the nanocomposite; the evolution in different polymer fractions, the crystalline fraction and the mobile and rigid amorphous fractions, with filler content was determined. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry