Composites of polyurethanes based on poly([R,S]-3-hydroxybutyrate) with chitosan

Abstract

Polyurethanes synthesized from biocompatible components were used to produce composites with 5 and 10 wt % chitosan content. The hard segments of polyurethanes were obtained from aliphatic 4,4′-methylene dicyclohexyl diisocyanate and 1,4-butanediol, while the soft segmentswere derived from polycaprolactonediol and synthetic poly([R,S]-3-hydroxybutyrate) in aweight ratio of 90:10 or 80:20. The hardness of polyurethanes and their composites with chitosanwas typical for elastomers used in medicine. DSC thermograms showed that the investigated polymers were semicrystalline. The morphology of their surface observed under optical microscopewas heterogeneous. The presence of chitosan in the composites reduced their water vapour permeability, resulting at the same time in an increased water sorption, while not influencing the oil sorption of polymer samples.