• Fibers and Polymers
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.13-18
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• 2005

PLA/LPCL/HPCL blend fibers composed of poly (lactic acid) (PLA), low molecular weight poly ($\varepsilon$-caprolactone) (LPCL), and high molecular weight poly ($\varepsilon$-caprolactone) (HPCL) were prepared by melt blending and spinning for bioab­sorbable filament sutures. The effects of blending time and blend composition on the X-ray diffraction patterns and tensile properties of PLA/LPCL/HPCL blend fibers were characterized by WAXD and UTM. In addition, the effect of in vitro degra­dation on the weight loss and tensile properties of the blend fibers hydrolyzed during immersion in a phosphate buffer solu­tion at pH 7.4 and 37$^{\circ}C$ for 1-8 weeks was investigated. The peak intensities of PLA/LPCL/HPCL blend fibers in X-ray diffraction patterns decreased with an increase of blending time and LPCL contents in the blend fibers. The weight loss of PLA/LPCL/HPCL blend fibers increased with an increase of blending time, LPCL contents, and hydrolysis time while the tensile strength and modulus of the blend fibers decreased. The tensile strength and modulus of the blend fibers were also found to be increased with an increase of HPCL contents in the blend fibers. The optimum conditions to prepare PLA/LPCL/HPCL blend fibers for bioabsorbable sutures are LPCL contents of $5 wt\%, HPCL contents of $35 wt\%, and blending time of 30 min. The strength retention of the PLA/LPCL/HPCL blend fiber prepared under optimum conditions was about $93.5\% even at hydrolysis time of 2 weeks.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.314-319
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• 2005

Four kinds of new aliphatic diols were synthesized by the ring opening reaction of glycolide with 1,4-butanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,4-cyclohexanediol, or 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, a difunctional initiator, in the presence of stannous octoate catalyst. The resulting diols were melt-polymerized with succinic acid, adipic acid, or suberic acid at 170, 190, or $220^{circ}C$ to produce new sequentially ordered aliphatic polyesters and their corresponding polyesters with random structure. Their glass transition temperatures ($T_g$) ranged from -40 to $30^{circ}C$, The sequentially ordered polyesters prepared at $170^{cir}C$ had higher $T_g$ of 5 to $10^{circ}$ than the polyesters with rand()m structure produced at higher temperature. From in-vitro degradation test the sequentially ordered polyesters was shower in the rate of hydrolysis in a buffer solution than the polymers with random molecular structure.