Performance of polylactic acid/polycaprolactone/microcrystalline cellulose biocomposites with different filler contents and maleic anhydride compatibilization

In this study, polylactic acid (PLA)/polycaprolactone (PCL)/microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) composites and PLA/PCL/MCC composite compatibilized by the maleic anhydride (MA) copolymer were prepared via two-screw extrusion technology. The mechanical results showed that the strength and break elongation of the ternary composites are decreased with the increase in the MCC contents. After the grafting copolymer was added, due to the better compatibility between the components of the composite, the strength and break elongation of the composite are significantly improved compared with that of ungrafted composite. According to the conducted differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis, the crystallinity of the PLA/PCL/MCC composites is increased with the increase in the MCC content, and the crystallinity of the grafted composites is higher. In addition, the 3D printed PLA/PLAma/PCL/5MCC composite exhibits good biocompatibility and adhesion with MCF-7 cells, thus indicating its bright application prospects as a biomaterial scaffold material in tissue engineering.