Evaluation of water uptake and mechanical properties of biomedical polymers

Poly(vinyl alcohol) grafted with poly(d,l-lactide) or poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) oligomers, were synthesized in our laboratory and investigated with respect to their potential for tissue engineering applications. In order to understand their structure-properties relationships the effect of length and composition as well as number of polyester grafts on PVA backbone chain on water uptake capability and hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity balance and on mechanical properties of hydrogels was evaluated. The E moduli of hydrogels display values between 0.01 and 100 MPa. The results indicate the route for the development of polymers with a very broad range of properties similar to those of natural cartilage tissue. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 3682-3688, 2013