Studies on biodegradation of crosslinked hydroxy terminated-poly(proplyene fumarate) and formation of scaffold for orthopedic applications.

Biodegradation of crosslinked-hydroxy terminated-poly(proplyene fumarate) (X-HTPPF) has been studied in simulated physiological media to assess the formation of porous scaffold structure for bone growth and remodeling in load bearing orthopedic applications. Variation in crosslink density and surface hydrophilicity of X-HTPPF are observed due to non-stoichiometric mass of reacting partners. These variations influence absorption of the medium and biodegradation during aging. Though the initial absorption of medium is relatively higher with the crosslinked polymer (PNVP1) having 63.6% HT-PPF and 36.4% comonomer n-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP) during the initial period of aging, the weight loss due to subsequent degradation with time is relatively lesser. PNVP1 undergo slow degradation with formation of fibril structure on the surface. The present crosslinked material PNVP1 is a candidate for the load bearing orthopedic applications.