Abstract
Herein, various poly(ethylene-co-vinylalcohol)/poly(delta-valerolactone) blends were prepared at different ratios by solvent casting for use in tissue engineering. The miscibility of these polymers was studied in detail using differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier-transform infra-red spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The Avrami model have been applied for determining the isothermal crystallization kinetics of poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol), poly(delta-valerolactone) and their blend with equal compositions, in which the Avrami parameters, the maximum crystallization time and the half-time were deducted. Cell adhesion and cell proliferation of the resultant materials were examined by an (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide)MTT assay; the blend containing equal amounts of the two polymers showed the best performance. Micropores and their connections were formed by using a new porogen under vacuum at temperatures slightly less than the glass transition temperature. The produced micropores and their interconnections were studied using scanning electron microscopy.
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