Aligned poly (glycolide-lactide) fiber membranes with conducting polypyrrole

Electroactive polypyrrole (PPy) are highly attractive for a number of biomedical applications such as tissue engineering. To improve interfacial compatibility of PPy with biopolyesters, poly (-caprolactone) grafted PPy (PPy-g-PCL) are synthesized in this work and characterized with Fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance. PPy-g-PCL exhibits good conductivity and electrochemical activity. It is also blended with poly (glycolide-lactide) to make aligned fiber membranes via drum at the speed of 1500r/min. The relationships of blending ratio with the fibrous structure, thermal stability, wettability, and mechanical properties are clarified. The results show that blending PPy-g-PCL has no significant effect on the fibrous morphology, but fibers trends aligned architecture as the blend ratio of poly (glycolide-lactide)/PPy-g-PCL exceeds 70/30. The membranous thermal and mechanical stability are modified. The membranous hydrophilicity significantly enhances with PPy-g-PCL amount increasing. Then the fiber membrane with topographical and electrical cues is qualified as the application of tissue engineering. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.