Preparation and characterization of poly(D,L-lactide) and its porous biomaterials

Poly(D,L-lactide) was synthesized by indirect method from D,L-lactic acid and characterized by infrared spectrum and proton nuclear magnetic resonance. The influences of monomer purity, initiator concentration, polymerization temperature and polymerization time on the relative molecular mass of poly(D, L-lactide) were investigated. The polylactide was made into porous materials by using solvent-casting particulate-leaching method. Under the optimized conditions, polylactides with a viscosity average molecular mass up to 1.82×10~5 are obtained and the (results) are fairly reproducible. Scanning electron microscope observation indicates that the sample is highly porous and well-distributed with good interconnections between pores and the pore size of porous materials is in the range from 200μm to 500μm and it can be used as scaffold for bone tissue engineering.