Shape Recovery with Concomitant Mechanical Strengthening of Amphiphilic Shape Memory Polymers in Warm Water

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• 作者：Ben Zhang ; Janae E. DeBartolo ; Jie Song
• 刊名：ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：February 8, 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：9
• 期：5
• 页码：4450-4456
• 全文大小：450K
• ISSN：1944-8252

文摘

Maintaining adequate or enhancing mechanical properties of shape memory polymers (SMPs) after shape recovery in an aqueous environment are greatly desired for biomedical applications of SMPs as self-fitting tissue scaffolds or minimally invasive surgical implants. Here we report stable temporary shape fixing and facile shape recovery of biodegradable triblock amphiphilic SMPs containing a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) center block and flanking poly(lactic acid) or poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) blocks in warm water, accompanied by concomitant enhanced mechanical strengths. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WXRD), and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) analyses revealed that the unique stiffening of the amphiphilic SMPs upon hydration was due to hydration-driven microphase separation and PEG crystallization. We further demonstrated that the chemical composition of degradable blocks in these SMPs could be tailored to affect the persistence of hydration-induced stiffening upon subsequent dehydration. These properties combined open new horizons for these amphiphilic SMPs for smart weight-bearing in vivo applications (e.g., as self-fitting intervertebral discs). This study also provides a new material design strategy to strengthen polymers in aqueous environment in general.