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Polymers
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Functional Poly(lactic Acid) (PLA) and Copolymers of Lactide
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Functional Poly(lactic Acid) (PLA) and Copolymers of Lactide

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 13132

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Piotr Dobrzynski

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa, 13/15 Armii Krajowej Av., 42-200 Czestochowa, Poland
Interests: polymeric biomaterials; biodegradable polymers; ROP polymerization; coordination polymerization; processing of bioresorbable polymers; biodegradable vascular stents
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Michal Kawalec

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Guest Editor
Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials, Polish Academy of Sciences, 41-819 Zabrze, Poland
Interests: biomaterials; biodegradable polymers; aliphatic polyester; aliphatic polycarbonate; functional polymers; ring-opening polymerization; anionic polymerization; coordination polymerization; organocatalysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Poly(lactic acid) or poly(lactide) (PLA) is an aliphatic polyester consisting of lactyl units. PLA is a synthetic polymer but derived from renewable resources. This is probably the most important biodegradable and commercially available thermoplastic material. However, one of its drawbacks is that the only possible sites for post-polymerization functionalization are the two end groups. Several strategies have been conceived to introduce desired functionalities onto polymer backbone to help to tailor properties of PLA for intended special applications. The main methods to obtain functional poly(lactide) derivatives comprise copolymerization of lactide with functional monomers, or by developing functional derivatives of the lactide monomer or branched architectures to increase the number of terminal groups. The literature also gives examples of PLA cross-linking, grafting, and development of supramolecular structures as well as treatment of PLA surface and preparation of functional composites.

This Special Issue aims to highlight studies that focus on the aforementioned methods to functionalize PLA or its copolymers as well as reveal their new unique properties. The scope of the issue includes synthesis, modification, characterization, processing, application, and relevant studies on functionalized poly(lactide) derivatives to target professionals, industrial practitioners, and researchers or graduate students working in the fields of chemistry, biomedicine, and material science.

We cordially invite you to contribute original research papers to this thematic issue.

Prof. Piotr Dobrzynski
Dr. Michal Kawalec
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • functional aliphatic polyesters
  • chemical modification of PLA
  • chain end modification
  • functionalization of lactides and lactons
  • ring-opening copolymerization
  • application of functional aliphatic polyesters
  • bioresorbability and biocompatibility of functional polyesters

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 26934 KiB  
Article
Triple-Shape Memory Behavior of Modified Lactide/Glycolide Copolymers
by Anna Smola-Dmochowska, Natalia Śmigiel-Gac, Bożena Kaczmarczyk, Michał Sobota, Henryk Janeczek, Paulina Karpeta-Jarząbek, Janusz Kasperczyk and Piotr Dobrzyński
Polymers 2020, 12(12), 2984; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12122984 - 14 Dec 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2463
Abstract
The paper presents the formation and properties of biodegradable thermoplastic blends with triple-shape memory behavior, which were obtained by the blending and extrusion of poly(l-lactide-co-glycolide) and bioresorbable aliphatic oligoesters with side hydroxyl groups: oligo (butylene succinate-co-butylene citrate) [...] Read more.
The paper presents the formation and properties of biodegradable thermoplastic blends with triple-shape memory behavior, which were obtained by the blending and extrusion of poly(l-lactide-co-glycolide) and bioresorbable aliphatic oligoesters with side hydroxyl groups: oligo (butylene succinate-co-butylene citrate) and oligo(butylene citrate). Addition of the oligoesters to poly (l-lactide-co-glycolide) reduces the glass transition temperature (Tg) and also increases the flexibility and shape memory behavior of the final blends. Among the tested blends, materials containing less than 20 wt % of oligo (butylene succinate-co-butylene citrate) seem especially promising for biomedical applications as materials for manufacturing bioresorbable implants with high flexibility and relatively good mechanical properties. These blends show compatibility, exhibiting one glass transition temperature and macroscopically uniform physical properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Poly(lactic Acid) (PLA) and Copolymers of Lactide)
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21 pages, 5324 KiB  
Article
Effect of Extrusion Screw Speed and Plasticizer Proportions on the Rheological, Thermal, Mechanical, Morphological and Superficial Properties of PLA
by Jaime Gálvez, Juan P. Correa Aguirre, Miguel A. Hidalgo Salazar, Bairo Vera Mondragón, Elizabeth Wagner and Carolina Caicedo
Polymers 2020, 12(9), 2111; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12092111 - 16 Sep 2020
Cited by 38 | Viewed by 6646
Abstract
One of the critical processing parameters—the speed of the extrusion process for plasticized poly (lactic acid) (PLA)—was investigated in the presence of acetyl tributyl citrate (ATBC) as plasticizer. The mixtures were obtained by varying the content of plasticizer (ATBC, 10–30% by weight), using [...] Read more.
One of the critical processing parameters—the speed of the extrusion process for plasticized poly (lactic acid) (PLA)—was investigated in the presence of acetyl tributyl citrate (ATBC) as plasticizer. The mixtures were obtained by varying the content of plasticizer (ATBC, 10–30% by weight), using a twin screw extruder as a processing medium for which a temperature profile with peak was established that ended at 160 °C, two mixing zones and different screw rotation speeds (60 and 150 rpm). To evaluate the thermo-mechanical properties of the blend and hydrophilicity, the miscibility of the plasticizing and PLA matrix, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), oscillatory rheological analysis, Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), mechanical analysis, as well as the contact angle were tested. The results derived from the oscillatory rheological analysis had a viscous behavior in the PLA samples with the presence of ATBC; the lower process speed promotes the transitions from viscous to elastic as well as higher values of loss modulus, storage modulus and complex viscosity, which means less loss of molecular weight and lower residual energy in the transition from the viscous state to the elastic state. The mechanical and thermal performance was optimized considering a greater capacity in the energy absorption and integration of the components. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Poly(lactic Acid) (PLA) and Copolymers of Lactide)
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10 pages, 2729 KiB  
Article
On the Relationship between Mechanical Properties and Crystallisation of Chemically Post-Processed Additive Manufactured Polylactic Acid Pieces
by A.P. Valerga, S.R. Fernandez-Vidal, F. Girot and A.J. Gamez
Polymers 2020, 12(4), 941; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12040941 - 18 Apr 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2929
Abstract
Nowadays, improvement of the surface finish of parts manufactured by fused deposition modelling is a well-studied topic. Chemical post-treatments have proven to be the best technique in terms of time consumption and smoothness improvement. However, these treatments modify the structure of the material [...] Read more.
Nowadays, improvement of the surface finish of parts manufactured by fused deposition modelling is a well-studied topic. Chemical post-treatments have proven to be the best technique in terms of time consumption and smoothness improvement. However, these treatments modify the structure of the material and, consequently, its mechanical properties. This relationship was studied in this work. In this case, on the basis of a previous study on crystallisation, polylactic acid pieces were subjected to different post-treatments to evaluate their effects on the sample’s mechanical properties, i.e., tensile strength and hardness. Models were obtained according to their percentage of crystallisation, which was related to the different treatments, as well as immersion time. Dramatic changes were obtained within a wide range of material behaviour with some treatments. Specifically, changes were obtained in the maximum stress (from 55 to 20 MPa), in elongation (from 3% to 260%), and in the hardness scale (Shore D to A). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Poly(lactic Acid) (PLA) and Copolymers of Lactide)
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