The use of biodegradable polymeric scaffolds for tissue regeneration is becoming a common practice in the clinic. Therefore, an inclined trend is developing with regards to improving the mechanical properties of these scaffolds. Here, we aim to improve the mechanical properties of poly (butylene succinate) (PBS)/poly (l-lactic acid) (PLLA) blends by incorporating hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HAP) in the blends to form composites. PBS/PLLA = 100/0, 95/5, 90/10, 85/15, and 0/100 wt% blends, along-with the loadings of a few mg of HAPs, were prepared using the solution casting method. A scanning electron microscope showed the voids and droplets, indicating the immiscibility of blends. Due to this immiscibility, the tensile strength values of the blends were found to be in between that of pure PBS (42.85 MPa) and pure PLLA (31.39 MPa). HAPs act as a compatibilizer by incorporating themselves in the voids and spaces caused by the immiscibility, thus increasing the overall tensile strength of the resulting composite to a certain extent, e.g., the tensile strength of PBS/PLLA = 95/5 loaded with 50 mg HAPs was found to be 51.16 MPa. The structural analysis employing the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirmed the formation of polymer blends and composites. The contact angle analysis showed that the addition of HAPs increased the hydrophilicity of the resulting composites. Selective samples were investigated based on mechanical properties to see if the blends and composites are biocompatible. The obtained results showed that all of the samples with better mechanical properties demonstrated good biocompatibility. This indicates the effectiveness of scaffolds for tissue regeneration.
Keywords: blend; hydroxyapatite; nanocomposite; poly (butylene succinate) (PBS); poly (l-lactic acid) (PLLA).