Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 30, 2025

Fabricating Superhydrophobic Polymeric Materials for Biomedical Applications
Published on: August 28, 2015
Modification of poly(lactate) via polymer blending with microbially produced
Yusuke Imai1, Yuichi Tominaga1, Shinji Tanaka2
1Multi-Material Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 4-205, Sakurazaka, Moriyama-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 463-8560, Japan.
Abstract:
This study investigated the effect of polymer blending of microbially produced poly[(R)-lactate-co-(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] copolymers (LAHB) with poly(lactate) (PLA) on their mechanical, thermal, and biodegradable properties. Blending of high lactate (LA) content and high molecular weight LAHB significantly improved the tensile elongation of PLA up to more than 250 % at optimal LAHB composition of 20-30 wt%. Temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis revealed that PLA and LAHB were immiscible but interacted with each other, as indicated by the mutual plasticization effect. Detailed morphological characterization using scanning probe microscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering, and solid-state NMR confirmed that PLA and LAHB formed a two-phase structure with a characteristic length scale as small as 20 nm. Because of mixing in this order, the polymer blends were optically transparent. The biological oxygen demand test of the polymer blends in seawater indicated an enhancement of PLA biodegradation during biodegradation of the polymer blends.
Related Concept Videos
Types of Step-Growth Polymers: Polyesters
Polyesters are commonly prepared from terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol; the crude product is known as poly(ethylene terephthalate) or PET. However, polyesters are synthesized industrially by transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate with ethylene glycol at 150 °C. The two reactants and the...
Characteristics and Nomenclature of Copolymers
Step-Growth Polymerization: Overview
Many natural and synthetic polymers are produced by...
Polymer Classification: Architecture

