- About this Journal
- Abstracting and Indexing
- Aims and Scope
- Article Processing Charges
- Articles in Press
- Author Guidelines
- Bibliographic Information
- Citations to this Journal
- Contact Information
- Editorial Board
- Editorial Workflow
- Free eTOC Alerts
- Publication Ethics
- Reviewers Acknowledgment
- Submit a Manuscript
- Subscription Information
- Table of Contents
International Journal of Polymer Science
Volume 2011 (2011), Article ID 651549, 8 pages
doi:10.1155/2011/651549
Manipulation of Polyhydroxybutyrate Properties through Blending with Ethyl-Cellulose for a Composite Biomaterial
1Bio/Polymer Research Group, Centre for Advanced Macromolecular Design, School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
2Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights, NSW 2234, Australia
Received 6 May 2011; Accepted 30 May 2011
Academic Editor: Shanfeng Wang
Copyright © 2011 Rodman T. H. Chan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is widely used as a biomaterial in medical and tissue-engineering applications, a relatively high crystallinity limits its application. Blending PHB with ethyl-cellulose (EtC) was readily achieved to reduce PHB crystallinity and promote its degradation under physiological conditions without undue influence on biocompatibility. Material strength of composite films remained unchanged at 6.5 0.6 MPa with 40% (w/w) EtC loadings. Phase separation between the two biopolymers was determined with PHB crystallinity decreasing from 63% to 47% for films with the same loading. This reduction in crystallinity supported an increase in the degradation rates of composite films from 0.39 to 0.81% wk−1 for PHB and its composite, respectively. No significant change in morphology and proliferation of olfactory ensheathing cells were observed with the composites despite significant increases in average surface roughness (Ra) of the films from 2.90 to 3.65 m for PHB and blends with 80% (w/w) EtC, respectively.