Properties of photo-cured poly(D,L-lactide) networks

Abstract

Poly(D,L-lactide) is a degradable polymer with a long
history of use in medical applications. It is strong and
stiff and degrades over the course of months into lactic
acid, a body-own substance. In the field of tissue
engineering it is commonly used to fabricate scaffolds.
Stereolithography is a high resolution rapid prototyping
technique by which designed 3D objects can be built
using photo-initiated radical polymerisations. Poly(D,Llactide)
(PDLLA) networks can be obtained by photopolymerisation
of oligomers functionalised with
unsaturated groups.
In this work, PDLLA oligomers of varying architectures
(arm lengths, numbers of arms) were synthesised and
end-functionalised with methacrylate groups. These
macromers were photo-crosslinked in solution to yield
PDLLA networks of different architectures. The
influence of the network architecture on its physical
properties was studied.