Three Composites of Bioactive Glass and PLA-Copolymers: Mass Loss and Water Absorption In Vitro

摘要

The composites containing 20 wt-% of bioactive glass and 80 wt-% of bioabsorbable copolymer of polylactide (poly-L/DL-lactide 70/30, poly-L/D-lactide 96/4 or poly-L-lactide-co-glycolide 80/20) were manufactured using twin-screw extruder and self-reinforcing technique. The compounding and self-reinforcing together created the interior and exterior porosity to the composites. The samples studied were characterized determining the mass loss and water absorption in phosphate buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.4) at 37 oC for up to 104 weeks. The results showed that as anticipated the three composites behaved differently in vitro. Poly-L-lactide-co-glycolide 80/20 based composite absorbed more water and faster than the others and they lost their mass most rapidly. At first poly-L/DL-lactide 70/30 and poly-L/D-lactide 96/4 based composites behaved very similarly, but beyond approximately 60 weeks in vitro the mass loss and water absorption of poly-L/DL-lactide 70/30 based accelerated.