| Description |
Biodegradable polymer systems show numerous technical and biomedical applications. Our team has long-term experience with a reproducible preparation of thermoplastic starch (TPS). TPS is cheap, biocompatible and completely biodegradable polymer. In this project, we aim at the development of TPS/PCL/MD/SiO2/Ag systems, where PCL = polycaprolactone (another biopolymer, added for better mechanical performance), MD = maltodextrin (bio-oligomer, acting as a lubricant that decreases processing temperature), SiO2 = silica nanoparticles (inorganic filler for higher stiffness and barrier properties), and Ag = silver nanoparticles (antibacterial properties). The multicomponent TPS/PCL/MD/SiO2/Ag systems could serve as a bio-material with tunable properties for numerous applications (such as antimicrobial packaging or mulching technology). The project comprises preparation of the above systems (by melt mixing), optimization of their composition and morphology (targeted modification of preparation protocols), characterization of their morphology (electron microscopy, vibrational spectroscopy, XRD), and properties (macro- and micromechanical properties), and participation in biodegradability testing (in collaboration with the University of Zagreb, Croatia). |
