Miscibility and carbon dioxide transport properties of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (iPHB) and its blends with different copolymers of styrene and vinyl phenol

This work summarizes the miscibility and transport properties of different polymer blends obtained by mixing a bacterial, isotactic poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (iPHB) with copolymers of styrene and vinyl phenol (Sty-co-VPh copolymers). Given that iPHB and pure commodity poly(styrene) (PS) form immiscible blends, PS has been modified by copolymerizing it with vinyl phenol (VPh) units, in an attempt to promote blend miscibility. VPh units have appropriate functional groups that interact with iPHB ester moieties. The potential miscibility was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measuring the glass transition temperatures of blends of different compositions. As an additional test, the interaction parameter between the two components, using the iPHB melting point depression caused by the second component, was also measured. Copolymers containing less than 90% styrene showed miscibility with iPHB.Given the remarkable barrier properties of iPHB to gases and vapours, the study has been completed by measuring transport properties of carbon dioxide through different iPHB/Sty-co-VPh copolymer blends, using gravimetric sorptions in a Cahn electrobalance. A clear difference was observed between the behaviour of rubbery blends and those that exhibit a glassy behaviour at the selected experimental temperature (303 K).     

Segregation morphology of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/poly(vinyl acetate) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-10% 3-hydroxyvalerate)/poly(vinyl acetate) blends as studied via small angle X-ray scattering

Segregation morphology of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB)/poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-10% 3-hydroxyvalerate) (P(HB-co-10% HV)/PVAc blends crystallized at 70 °C have been investigated by means of small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Morphological parameters including the crystal thickness (l_c) and the amorphous layer thickness (l_a) were deduced from the one-dimensional correlation function (γ(z)). Blending with PVAc thickened the PHB crystals but not the P(HB-co-10% HV) crystals. On the basis of the composition variation of l_a, and the volume fraction of lamellar stacks (?_s) revealed that PHB/PVAc blends created the interlamellar segregation morphology when the weight fraction of PVAc (w_PVAc)≤0.2 and the interlamellar and interfibrillar segregation coexisted when w_PVAc>0.2, while P(HB-co-10% HV)/PVAc blends yielded the interfibrillar segregation morphology at all blend compositions. For both PHB/PVAc and P(HB-co-10% HV)/PVAc blends, the distance of PVAc segregation was promoted by increasing PVAc composition and the distance of PVAc segregation in P(HB-co-10% HV)/PVAc blends was greater than in PHB/PVAc at a given PVAc composition. The crystal growth rate played a key role in controlling the segregation of PVAc.     

Molecular dynamics simulation studies of binary blend miscibility of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(ethylene oxide)

By means of full atomistic molecular dynamics simulation, the solubility parameters for pure poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(ethylene oxide) are calculated and the results are in agreement with the literature values. Furthermore, in order to reveal the blend property, the volume-temperature curve of the PHB/PEO blend system (1:2 blends in terms of repeated units) is simulated by employing the united atom approximation to obtain the glass transition temperature. From the volume-temperature curve, the glass transition temperature is about 258 K, which is compared well with the experimental results. It should be pointed out that the two simulated solubility parameters are similar and there is only one glass transition of the blend system, these indicate that the studied blend system is miscible.     

Solid-state NMR study on the structure and mobility of the noncrystalline region of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)

The noncrystalline structures of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) copolymers were studied by variable temperature solid-state wide-line ¹H NMR and solid-state high-resolution ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. It is found that at room temperature there exists a rich and rigid component in the noncrystalline region of PHB and PHBV. The content of this component decreases with the increase in 3-hydroxyvalerate content in PHBV and with the increase in temperature. The brittleness of PHB may be partly attributed to the rigidness of the noncrystalline region at room temperature, while the improvement of the properties of PHBV may come from the enhanced mobility of the noncrystalline region.     

The domain structure and mobility of semi-crystalline poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate): A solid-state NMR study

Solid-state NMR techniques have been employed to investigate the domain structure and mobility of the bacterial biopolymeric metabolites such as poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and its copolymers poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) containing 2.7 mol% (PHBV2.7) and 6.5 mol% (PHBV6.5) 3-hydroxyvalerate. Both single-pulse excitation with magic-angle spinning (SPEMAS) and cross-polarization magic-angle spinning (CPMAS) ¹³C NMR results showed that these biopolymers were composed of amorphous and crystalline regions having distinct molecular dynamics. Under magic-angle spinning, ¹H T_1ρ and ¹³C T₁ showed two processes for each carbon. Proton relaxation-induced spectral editing (PRISE) techniques allowed the neat separation of the ¹³C resonances in the crystalline regions from those in the amorphous ones. The proton spin-lattice relaxation time in the tilted rotating frame, , measured using the Lee-Goldburg sequence with frequency modulation (LGFM) as the spin-locking scheme, was also double exponential and significantly longer than ¹H T_1ρ. The difference between for the amorphous and crystalline domains was greater than that of ¹H T_1ρ. Our results showed that the differences could be exploited in LGFM-CPMAS experiments to separate the signals from two distinct regions. ¹H spin-diffusion results showed that the domain size of the mobile components in PHB, PHBV2.7 and PHBV6.5 were about 13, 24 and 36 nm whereas the ordered domain sizes were smaller than 76, 65 and 55 nm, respectively. The results indicated that the introduction of 3-hydroxyvalerate into PHB led to marked molecular mobility enhancement in the biopolymers.     

Preparation of poly(β-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(lactide) hollow spheres with controlled wall thickness

In recent years, polymer microcapsules have attracted more and more attention because of their specific properties and applications in encapsulation and drug delivery. Great effort has been made to investigate the preparation methods, structure controls as well as the property designs for the polymer microcapsules. In this work, we reported an effective route for the preparation of poly(β-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) hollow spheres with controlled wall thickness, which involves the graft polymerization of the biodegradable polymers from the surface of silica spheres followed by removing the template cores. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) have been used to prove the structure of the hollow sphere and the intermediates. The result reveals that with the increase of reaction time the wall thickness of the hollow sphere will increase gradually.     

Blends of bacterial poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and a poly(epichlorohydrin-co-ethylene oxide) copolymer: thermal and CO2 transport properties

In this work the miscibility and the carbon dioxide transport properties of a bacterial, isotactic poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (iPHB) and its blends with a copolymer of epichlorohydrin and ethylene oxide (ECH-co-EO) have been studied. Blends were prepared by solution/precipitation. The aim to obtain miscible blends of iPHB with a rubbery second component (such as the ECH-co-EO copolymer) is to have mixtures with glass transition temperatures below room temperature. In these conditions, the iPHB chains not involved in the crystalline regions retain its mobility. This mobility seems to be necessary for the attack of microorganisms and the corresponding biodegradability.Miscibility is the general rule of these mixtures, as shown by the existence of a single glass transition temperature for each blend and by the depression of the iPHB melting point. The interaction energy density stabilising the mixtures, calculated using the Nishi-Wang treatment, was similar to those of other polymer mixtures involving different polyesters and poly(epichlorohydrin) (PECH) and ECH-co-EO copolymers. The so-called binary interaction model has been used in order to simulate the evolution of the interaction energy density with the ECH-co-EO copolymer composition. Previously reported experimental data on blends of iPHB with PECH and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) have been used to quantify the required segmental interaction energy densities.In the determination of the CO₂ transport properties of the mixtures, only iPHB rich blends containing up to 40% of copolymer were considered. The effect of the ECH-co-EO copolymer is to increase the sorption and the diffusion of the penetrant (and, consequently, the permeability) with respect to the values of the pure iPHB. This is primarily due to the reduction of the global crystallinity of the blends and to the low barrier character of the ECH-co-EO copolymer. Sorption data can be reasonably reproduced using an extension of the Henry's law to ternary systems.     

Intermolecular interactions and crystallization behaviors of biodegradable polymer blends between poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) and cellulose acetate butyrate studied by DSC, FT-IR, and WAXD

Relationships between composition- and temperature-dependent intermolecular interactions and cold crystallization behaviors of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB)/ cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) blends have been investigated mainly by infrared (IR) spectroscopy, together with differential scanning calorimetry, and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). Weak intermolecular hydrogen bondings between OH groups in CAB and CO groups in amorphous part of PHB define as inter were detected in OH stretching bands of the blends. These interactions occur in the blends with high CAB content (w_CAB) and highly depend on temperature. For all the blends having 0.2 ≤ w_CAB ≤ 0.7, when temperature is raised (e.g., above 90 °C for the blend with w_CAB = 0.5) the cold crystallization of PHB was discerned, as evidenced by an increase of the absorbance of the band due to CO stretching in the crystal field. The crystallization was found to involve the dissociation of inter and transformation of inter into intramolecular hydrogen bondings within PHB and within CAB as summarized in Table 2 in this text, which promotes the crystallization and enhances stabilization of the crystals. Consequently, the crystallization of the PHB is influenced by exchanges of the hydrogen bondings as described above with raising temperatures. X-ray diffraction from PHB crystals in the blends show a remarkable decrease of crystallinity with w_CAB and eventually disappear when w_CAB ≥ 0.8.     

Thermal analyses of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate), and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate)

Thermal analyses of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) [P(HB–HV)], and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) [P(HB–HHx)] were made with thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In the thermal degradation of PHB, the onset of weight loss occurred at the temperature (°C) given by T_o = 0.75B + 311, where B represents the heating rate (°C/min). The temperature at which the weight-loss rate was at a maximum was T_p = 0.91B + 320, and the temperature at which degradation was completed was T_f = 1.00B + 325. In the thermal degradation of P(HB–HV) (70:30), T_o = 0.96B + 308, T_p = 0.99B + 320, and T_f = 1.09B + 325. In the thermal degradation of P(HB–HHx) (85:15), T_o = 1.11B + 305, T_p = 1.10B + 319, and T_f = 1.16B + 325. The derivative thermogravimetry curves of PHB, P(HB–HV), and P(HB–HHx) confirmed only one weight-loss step change. The incorporation of 30 mol % 3-hydroxyvalerate (HV) and 15 mol % 3-hydroxyhexanoate (HHx) components into the polyester increased the various thermal temperatures T_o, T_p, and T_f relative to those of PHB by 3–12°C (measured at B = 40°C/min). DSC measurements showed that the incorporation of HV and HHx decreased the melting temperature relative to that of PHB by 70°C. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 90–98, 2001     

Higher order structures and mechanical properties of bacterial homo poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) fibers prepared by cold-drawing and annealing processes

Pure bacterial homo poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) fibers were prepared by melt spinning, followed by cold-drawing in an amorphous state at a temperature just above its glass transition temperature. Cold drawn fibers obtained were further drawn at higher temperatures, followed by annealing at various temperatures under tension. Relations among the processing conditions, higher order structures and mechanical properties were investigated using wide- and small-angle X-ray diffractions (WAXD and SAXD, respectively), birefringence, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and tensile measurements. PHB has two different crystalline forms, 2₁ helix conformation (α-form) and planar zigzag conformation (β-form). A single broad reflection of β-form was detected even in a PHB fiber drawn once at a temperature just above its T_g immediately after quenching and it tended to be stronger after 2nd drawing at higher temperatures. Annealing under low temperature and high tension facilitates the occurrence of β-form. It is suggested that the β-form crystal is formed not only from the tie chains between α-form lamella, but also from completely free amorphous chains. Changes in the amount of two types of crystals were analyzed using the WAXD integrated intensity. Birefringence of these fibers shows negative and positive values, depending on process conditions. Changes in higher order structure on the mechanical properties are also discussed.     

Some properties of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)–poly(3-hydroxyvalerate) blends

The melting, crystallization and dynamic mechanical behaviour of blends of bacterially produced poly[D (–)-3-hydroxybutyrate] (PHB) and poly[D (–)-3-hydroxyvalerate] (PHV) have been investigated. Results showed that melt-pressed PHB–PHV blends contained phase-separated domains in the melt which subsequently crystallized as PHB and PHV type spherulites respectively. The two melting regions detected by DTA related to separate melting of PHB and PHV crystallites, which were almost unaffected by the blend composition. The mechanical behaviour of a random copolymer of PHB/HV was compared with that of a blend of almost the same composition, and found to be markedly different.     

Novel Poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate)/Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) blends for medical applications

Novel Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/Poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) blends were developed with varying amounts of Poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate), P(3HO) and Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), P(3HB) for their potential use in various medical applications. These blend films exhibited higher tensile strength and Young’s modulus values compared to neat P(3HO). The overall protein adsorption and % cell viability was also found to be significantly higher in the blend films than the neat P(3HO) film. Hydrolytic degradation was faster in the blend films and the degradation rate could potentially be tailored to achieve the optimum rate required for a particular medical application. Hence, these novel blends were found to be highly biocompatible with surface, mechanical and thermal properties suitable for a range of potential medical applications, a great step forward in the area of medical materials.     

Effect of hydrogen bonding on the crystallization behavior of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate)/silica hybrid composites

Biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHB-HHx)/hydrophobically modified silica hybrid composites were prepared using simple melt compounding and the effect of hydrogen bonding on their crystallization behavior was observed. The intermolecular hydrogen bonding between PHB-HHx and silica increased gradually with the increase of silica content of the hybrid composites. However, the extent of intermolecular hydrogen bonding was not directly proportional to the silica content. Although, the crystallization rates of the PHB-HHx/silica hybrids decreased as the strength of intermolecular hydrogen bonding increased, the constant value of the Avrami exponent indicates that the presence of silica does not alter the nucleation mechanism or the geometry of the crystal growth of the PHB-HHx hybrids. The calculated crystallization activation energy increased with the addition of silica, suggesting that silica retards the overall crystallization rate of the PHB-HHx hybrid composites as a result of the existence of intermolecular hydrogen bonding. The relationship between the extent of intermolecular hydrogen bond and crystallization rate is described by the empirical second-order equation.     

Surface structure of folded-chain crystals of poly(R-3-hydroxybutyrate) of different chain length

The structure of the crystalline-amorphous interface of poly(R-3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) of different molar mass is evaluated by analysis of the rigid amorphous fraction and by analysis of the degree of reversible melting and crystallization. The rigid amorphous fraction of low-molar-mass PHB of 5 kDa is only 5-10%, and at best half of that of high-molar-mass PHB of almost 500 kDa, despite identical crystallinity. This result is paralleled by observation of distinctly larger degree of reversible melting and crystallization in PHB of high molar mass. The larger rigid amorphous fraction and higher degree of reversible melting and crystallization in PHB of high molar mass, consistently and independently, prove enhanced covalent coupling of crystals and amorphous structure, and/or de-coupling of segments of macromolecules which traverse between phases, respectively. The distinct isolation of crystals in PHB of low molar mass is discussed in terms of absence of wide loops/folds, long-chain cilia, and tie-molecules.     

Melting and crystallization behavior of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) by temperature modulated calorimetry

Temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry (TMDSC) in the quasi-isothermal mode is applied to investigate melting and crystallization of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) obtained from aqueous dispersion, both melt-crystallized and native (as-polymerized). The differences, shown in the past between the melting behavior of melt-crystallized and native PTFE, have been confirmed and further evidenced through this technique. A large reversing heat capacity is present in the melting and crystallization regions. As proposed by many authors, the presence of the reversing heat capacity can be related to surface melting and crystallization. It can occur on the growth and/or fold surfaces and it has been shown that it is larger for those macromolecules having higher chain mobility that allows rearrangements on the crystal surface. In the present case, the large observed reversing heat capacity can be related to the very high sliding ability of PTFE chains in the pseudohexagonal phase, which is much larger than that of most semicrystalline polymers. Due to the crystal-crystal transition at 30 °C, which can be described as a fusion in the longitudinal direction, melting of PTFE can be considered intermediate between the irreversible melting of macromolecules and the completely reversible isotropization of liquid crystalline polymers.     

Controlled Delivery of Gentamicin Using Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Microspheres

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), P(3HB), produced from Bacillus cereus SPV using a simple glucose feeding strategy was used to fabricate P(3HB) microspheres using a solid-in-oil-water (s/o/w) technique. For this study, several parameters such as polymer concentration, surfactant and stirring rates were varied in order to determine their effect on microsphere characteristics. The average size of the microspheres was in the range of 2 μm to 1.54 μm with specific surface areas varying between 9.60 m(2)/g and 6.05 m(2)/g. Low stirring speed of 300 rpm produced slightly larger microspheres when compared to the smaller microspheres produced when the stirring velocity was increased to 800 rpm. The surface morphology of the microspheres after solvent evaporation appeared smooth when observed under SEM. Gentamicin was encapsulated within these P(3HB) microspheres and the release kinetics from the microspheres exhibiting the highest encapsulation efficiency, which was 48%, was investigated. The in vitro release of gentamicin was bimodal, an initial burst release was observed followed by a diffusion mediated sustained release. Biodegradable P(3HB) microspheres developed in this research has shown high potential to be used in various biomedical applications.     

邻苯二甲酸二辛酯与PHB共混改性的研究

采用邻苯二甲酸二辛酯(DOP)对聚3-羟基丁酸酯(PHB)进行共混改性,并对共混物的流变行为、结晶行为和力学行为进行了研究。结果表明,DOP与PHB具有良好的相容性,能降低PHB的结晶行为,降低熔融温度,加宽熔融温区,改善加工条件,提高韧性。     

Miscibility and crystallization of poly(ethylene succinate)/poly(vinyl phenol) blends

Miscibility of biodegradable poly(ethylene succinate) (PES)/poly(vinyl phenol) (PVPh) blends has been studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in this work. PES is found to be miscible with PVPh as shown by the existence of single composition dependent glass transition temperature over the entire composition range. Spherulitic morphology and the growth rates of neat and blended PES were investigated by optical microscopy (OM). Both neat and blended PES show a maximum growth rate value in the crystallization temperature range of 45-65 °C, with the growth rate of neat PES being higher than that of blended PES at the same crystallization temperature. The overall crystallization kinetics of neat and blended PES was also studied by DSC and analyzed by the Avrami equation at 60 and 65 °C. The crystallization rate decreases with increasing the temperature for both neat and blended PES. The crystallization rate of blended PES is lower than that of neat PES at the same crystallization temperature. However, the Avrami exponent n is almost the same despite the blend composition and crystallization temperature, indicating that the addition of PVPh does not change the crystallization mechanism of PES but only lowers the crystallization rate.     

Biodegradable polymer blends of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(DL-lactide)-co-poly(ethylene glycol)

The melting and crystallization behavior and phase morphology of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and poly(DL-lactide)-co-poly(ethylene glycol) (PELA) blends were studied by DSC, SEM, and polarizing optical microscopy. The melting temperatures of PHB in the blends showed a slight shift, and the melting enthalpy of the blends decreased linearly with the increase of PELA content. The glass transition temperatures of PHB/PELA (60/40), (40/60), and (20/80) blends were found at about 30°C, close to that of the pure PELA component, during DSC heating runs for the original samples and samples after cooling from the melt at a rate of 20°C/min. After a DSC cooling run at a rate of 100°C/min, the blends showed glass transitions in the range of 10–30°C. Uniform distribution of two phases in the blends was observed by SEM. The crystallization of PHB in the blends from both the melt and the glassy state was affected by the PELA component. When crystallized from the melt during the DSC nonisothermal crystallization run at a rate of 20°C/min, the temperatures of crystallization decreased with the increase of PELA content. Compared with pure PHB, the cold crystallization peaks of PHB in the blends shifted to higher temperatures. Well-defined spherulites of PHB were found in both pure PHB and the blends with PHB content of 80 or 60%. The growth of spherulites of PHB in the blends was affected significantly by 60% PELA content. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 65: 1849–1856, 1997