L-DOPA coating improved phosphate glass fibre strength and fibre/matrix interface

Chao Tan; Chris D Rudd; Andrew J Parsons; Nusrat Sharmin; Ifty Ahmed

doi:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2022.105480

L-DOPA coating improved phosphate glass fibre strength and fibre/matrix interface

J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2022 Dec:136:105480. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2022.105480. Epub 2022 Sep 27.

Authors

Chao Tan¹, Chris D Rudd², Andrew J Parsons³, Nusrat Sharmin⁴, Ifty Ahmed⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China. Electronic address: tanchao@scu.edu.cn.
² James Cook University, 387380, Singapore. Electronic address: chris.rudd@jcu.edu.au.
³ Composites Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK. Electronic address: andrew.parsons@nottingham.ac.uk.
⁴ Department of Processing Technology, Nofima AS, Richard Johnsens Gate 4, 4021, Stavanger, Norway. Electronic address: nusrat.sharmin@nofima.no.
⁵ Advanced Materials Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK. Electronic address: ifty.ahmed@nottingham.ac.uk.

PMID: 36183666
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2022.105480

Abstract

The levodopa (L-DOPA) has been reported as a promising adhesive for various materials. In this study, we utilized L-DOPA as an interfacial agent for phosphate glass fibre/polycaprolactone (PGF/PCL) composites, with the aim to enhance the interfacial properties between the fibres and polymer matrix. The PGFs were dip-coated in varying concentrations of L-DOPA solution ranging between 5 and 40 g L^-1. The fibre strength and interfacial shear strength (IFSS) of the composites were measured via a single fibre tensile test and single fibre fragmentation test, respectively. It was found that the L-DOPA agent (at conc. 10 g L^-1) significantly improved the IFSS of the composites up to 27%. Also, the L-DOPA coating (at conc. 40 g L^-1) significantly increased the glass fibre strength up to 18%. As a result, an optimum coating level could be tailored depending on application and whether fibre strength or IFSS was of greater importance. In addition, SEM and TGA analyses were used to detect and quantify the coating agents. FTIR and XPS further confirmed presence of the coating and indicated the zwitterionic crystals of L-DOPA and the formation of a melanin-like polymer layer. The spectroscopy data also evidenced that both catechol and amine groups contributed to the interaction between the L-DOPA and the PGF surface.

Keywords: Coating; Fibre strength; Fibre/matrix interface; L-DOPA; Phosphate glass fibre.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Biocompatible Materials / chemistry
Glass / chemistry
Levodopa*
Phosphates* / chemistry
Polymers / chemistry

Substances

Phosphates
Levodopa
Biocompatible Materials
fiberglass
Polymers