Physical characterization of thin semi-porous poly(L-lactic acid)/poly(ethylene glycol) membranes for tissue engineering.

This study examines physical properties of solvent-cast poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA): poly(ethylene glycol) PEG membranes as a function of PEG molecular weight (MW) and incubation in vitro for 6 weeks. PEGs of MW 400, 1450 and 8000 were used. The morphological, thermal, mechanical and permeability properties of the membranes were studied prior to and after 3 and 6 weeks of incubation in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at 37 degrees C. The membranes showed a thickness of about 35+/-5 microm and were found to be semi-porous, with a non-porous surface as well as a porous surface with pore-diameters of 0.5-5 microm. The surface pore size was found to be a function of PEG MW used. All membranes were mechanically strong, with elastic moduli and tensile strength of 150-440 MPa and 7-36 MPa, respectively, all through the 6-week incubation period. The lower-MW PEGs plasticized PLLA based on high initial percent elongation; however, the effect was lost after 3 weeks of incubation in PBS. All membranes except those fabricated with PEG 8000 were impermeable for up to 6 weeks of incubation in PBS. Permeability studies showed that only PLLA:PEG 8000 membranes were permeable to methylene blue after 3 weeks of degradation.