RELATING THE PLEASE MORPHOLOGY OF A BIODEGRADABLE POLYMER BLEND TO EROSION KINETICS USING SIMULTANEOUS IN-SITU ATOMIC-FORCE MICROSCOPY AND SURFACE-PLASMON RESONANCE ANALYSIS

Citation
Km. Shakesheff et al., RELATING THE PLEASE MORPHOLOGY OF A BIODEGRADABLE POLYMER BLEND TO EROSION KINETICS USING SIMULTANEOUS IN-SITU ATOMIC-FORCE MICROSCOPY AND SURFACE-PLASMON RESONANCE ANALYSIS, Langmuir, 11(10), 1995, pp. 3921-3927
Citations number
30
Categorie Soggetti
Chemistry Physical
Journal title
ISSN journal
07437463
Volume
11
Issue
10
Year of publication
1995
Pages
3921 - 3927
Database
ISI
SICI code
0743-7463(1995)11:10<3921:RTPMOA>2.0.ZU;2-C
Abstract
The blending of established biodegradable polymers offers the potentia l to fabricate new polymeric materials whose erosion kinetics can be m odified by varying the composition of the blend. However, the immiscib ility of most polymer blends complicates the erosion kinetics because of the influence of phase morphology on degradation. In this paper, we describe how the simultaneous acquisition of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) data can be used to interpre t the effect of phase morphology on erosion. We have analyzed the degr adation of thin films of blends of poly(sebacic anhydride) (PSA) and p oly(DL-lactic acid) (PLA) using a combined AFM/SPR instrument, which e nables the dynamic changes in surface morphology resulting from polyme r degradation to be related to the SPR recorded kinetics of film erosi on. This analysis has demonstrated three stages in the erosion of the films at pH 11, with the rapid loss of PSA dominating the initial stag e of erosion, the slow loss of PLA detected in the final stage, and an intermediate stage displaying an extended transitional period during which the rate of erosion has an intermediate value. The effect of ble nd composition on phase morphology and hence the relative importance o f these three stages during erosion are explored.