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Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a synthetic polymer that has recently received increasing attention thanks to its biodegradability. Its most common use is in the manufacture of polyurethanes or as a plasticizer for other polymers such as PVC. It is also often used in molding and prototyping thanks to its low melting temperature and is used as a feedstock in some additive manufacturing (3D printing) systems. Finally, it is also used in some drug delivery applications as a control release mechanism, in the same way as polylactic acid (PLA) or polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA). A potential advantage over PLA and PLGA is that PCL has a slower degradation rate and therefore may allow for slower drug release.. As with all polymers, PCL’s molecular properties (e.g. molecular weight) will strongly affect its bulk properties such as strength, toughness, and melt-flow. Being biodegradable, PCL is at a high risk of degradation during processes such as extrusion for molding, particularly at high temperatures. Some mechanisms have been described in the literature to reduce this. For instance, extrusion in the presence of carbon dioxide (CO2) can reduce the melt flow viscosity of PCL by acting as a ‘molecular lubricant’. Decreasing the viscosity of the polymer reduces the temperature at which extrusion can be performed and could thereby protect the polymer from degradation during the process [1].. In this application note, a commercially available sample of PCL was extruded alone and in the presence of CO2­. Multi-detector GPC measurements were made of the virgin sample before and after extrusion, while rotational rheometry was used to study the polymer’s melt viscosity..

Products:

Kinexus lab+

Date:

April 27 2017

Language:

English

What is a particle? This may seem a fairly stupid question to ask! However, it is fundamental to understanding the results which come from various particle size analysis techniques.

Products:

Zetasizer Nano range

Date:

July 10 2002

Language:

English

Dynamic and Static Light Scattering techniques were used to monitor the aggregation of ß-Lactoglobulin after a rapid pH change. A reliable data point was produced every 20 seconds, giving the kinetics, and the size distribution at each point

Products:

Zetasizer Nano range

Date:

October 9 2003

Language:

English

In this note we analyze two hyperbranched polyesters samples by advanced size exclusion chromatography to assess the branching. We show that even for low dn/dc samples of hyperbranched polyesters the results are reproducible

Products:

Viscotek range

Date:

September 30 2009

Language:

English

Triple detector SEC is ideal for polymer structure analysis as it directly detects changes in polymer structure as well as molecular weight, whereas conventional single concentration detector SEC detects only differences in hydrodynamic size

Products:

Viscotek range

Date:

September 30 2009

Language:

English