Unique Microstructure and Mechanical Properties from Melt Processing Poly(Lactide- co -Glycolide)/Poly(Trimethylene Carbonate)

Poly(lactide) (PLA) and its copolymers degrade through hydrolysis into non-toxic and water soluble metabolic products in vivo. They are ideal materials for resorbable biomedical applications such as drug delivery and tissue engineering. However, these polymers are brittle and often need to be toughened. One of the most effective toughening methods is reactive blending, in which additives are dispersed into polymer matrices as small particles with strong bonding between the two materials. In this paper, we studied toughening poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) through reactive blending with poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC). We observed warm-like micelle or swollen warm-like micelle structures created during the reactive blending process with a twin screw extruder at high temperature. The micelle structures were orientated along the extrusion direction with their length ranging from 50 to 1000 nm and diameters about 50 nm. This structure could be produced only with a twin screw extruder. When a batch mixer was used, the PTMC additive (10 to 30 wt%) formed spheres with diameters on the order of 100-500 nm. The PLGA/PTMC copolymers formed in situ were responsible to this microstructure. The mechanical properties of this blend were significantly improved over the pure PLGA.