Characterization of two biodegradable polymers of potential application within the biomaterials field

An extensive characterization of two biodegradable polymers that may constitute an alternative, if one is aiming at orthopaedic applications, to the currently used poly(glicolic acid), poly(lactic acid) or polyhydroxybutyrate was carried out. A cellulose acetate and three different grades of a novel starch based polymer were studied. The characterization included: tensile and instrumented impact tests, rheological measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and long-term degradation trials in Hank's solution. The results show that both polymers, specially the starch based one, present a great potential for biomedical applications, on which adequate mechanical properties associated to a controlled degradation rate are required.