The research and development of biodegradable polylactic acid based composite materials for implant and scaffold applications

• Main Authors: Po-Liang Lin, 林柏良
• Other Authors: Hsu-Wei Fang
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2012
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/4s6fgv

博士 === 國立臺北科技大學 === 工程科技研究所 === 100 === Polylactic acid (PLA) materials have been used in biomedical applications such as bone screws, sutures, and scaffold materials because they are biodegradable, bioresorbable, and biocompatible. There is an increasing need to achieve independent control of key properties such as mechanical strength, degradation rate, and bioactivity in order to further enhance the performance of PLA-based medical implants. Because PLA composites containing hydroxyapatite (HAp) or tricalcium phosphate (TCP) particles can augment cell growth and mechanical properties, PLA composites containing polypropylene carbonate (PPC) can decrease the value of the glass transition temperature Tg, which makes the PLA composites flexible. Hence, in this study, we use a solvent mix method and a non-solvent salt leaching method to fabricate PLA-based composite materials with hydroxyapatite (HAp), tricalcium phosphate (TCP), or polypropylene carbonate (PPC). The resultant properties of the PLA-based composite materials show that we can control the mechanical properties and degradation rate of these materials independently, turn them into porous composites, make them relatively elastic, and change their shape at room temperature; one example of such a material is an eraser. A pre-clinical study (animal study) proves the biocompatibility of PLA composite materials. This can help us to promote the commercialization of PLA composite materials quickly. The information resulting from this study can assist in the optimization of PLA composite formulas for specific medical applications.