Thermogravimetric study for polyurethane materials for biomedical applications

Extracellular matrix biocomposites based on poly(ester urethane), and hydrolyzed collagen, elastin, chondroitin sulphate and hyaluronic acid have been prepared. The thermal stability and kinetic parameters of the polyurethane biocomposites by using thermogravimetry (TG) and derivative thermogravimetry (DIG) under dynamic conditions of temperature, were evaluated. The non-isothermal kinetic parameters of the thermal degradation (activation energy, order of reaction, pre-exponential factor) were discussed in terms of the integral methods: Coats-Redfern, Flynn-Wall, van Krevelen and Urbanovici-Segal. The Reich-Levi method was also employed in evaluation of variation of the kinetic parameters with conversion. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.