Adhesives are widespread. They hold together the furniture, cars and electronics that we use on a daily basis. The majority of commercially available glues are sourced from petroleum-based monomers and are not degradable in any practical way. The permanent nature of these adhesive materials makes disassembly for recycling difficult. Current bio-based glues such as hide and starch glue are not strong enough to compete with commercial glues. Inspiration from nature is helping us to tackle this problem. Marine mussels achieve strong bonding to underwater surfaces through the use of adhesive plaques containing the uncommon amino acid 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine. Incorporating this chemistry into a degradable polylactic acid backbone allows for the development of strong bonding biodegradable glue. Throughout this work, the synthesis of these materials is discussed as well as methods to improve the bonding of these materials to compete with commercial glues. The degradation of these materials as well as their cytocompatibility is discussed.

This master’s thesis deals with the study of composting of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and polylactic acid (PLA). The experimental part focuses on the composting test based on the IS/ISO 20200 standard, in which biopolymers were degraded within 8 weeks. The advantage of the composting test was the unique use of bags for polymer granules, which simplified the handling of samples. The placement of the polymers ensured an even load of compost, which simulated the landfill environment, which also made this experiment exceptional. The use of different methods of analysis ensured the investigation of the influence of compost on the degradation of polymers, but also the influence of polymers on the compost microbiome. In the compost environment all of the studied polymers degraded. After 8 weeks the weight loss of approximately 40 % was detected in PHB. Amorphous PLA degraded completely in the 5th week of experiment, while semicrystalline PLA lost approximately 70 % of its weight in 8 weeks. Using SEM images and SEC analysis, we conclude that PHB degradation was predominantly biological. Degradation of PLA samples was found to be predominantly abiotic. Analysis of compost samples revealed that the enzymatic activity of esterases increased in composts with polymers compared to compost without polymers. The effect of polymers on the microbiome in compost was analyzed using Biolog EcoPlates™. Compost with PHB showed a high ability to adapt to various substrates and microbiome expanded during composting. In the case of a sample with semicrystalline PLA, it was found that in the last week of composting, the ability of microorganisms to adapt and use substrates decreased, which indicates a possible negative effect of this polymer on compost development.

This master’s thesis focuses on biodegradation of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and polylactic acid (PLA). The theoretical part discusses an origin, properties and applications of investigated biopolyesters, and so the enzymology of their biodegradation. The experimental part deals with biodegradation of these polymers in liquid medium using several pure thermophilic bacteial strains and controlled composting of these bioplastics. Amongst six tested thermophilic bacterial strains only one showed PHB-biodegradation activity – strain Schlegelella thermodepolymerans. No degradation degree of amorphous or semi-crystalline PLA was observed. Mainly disintegration of both forms of PLA articles was observed in compost environment, thus the abiotic mechanism of its decomposition was indicated. After 4 weeks of composting, the relative weight loss of 99 % and 63 % was detected in amorphous and semi-crystalline PLA respectively. On the contrary, the weight loss of PHB after 4 weeks of composting reached 36 %, moreover, a half decrease of molar mass was observed using SEC. The surface erosive mechanism of PHB-biodegradation was stated using SEM. By monitoring of esterase, lipase and protease activities, no influence on the compost by polymer presence was concluded at statistical significance.

Textil- och klädtillverkning är en tungt miljöbelastande bransch. För att ändra på det och få textilindustrin i en riktning mot en hållbar utveckling behöver CO2-utsläpp avsevärt minskas, vattenförbrukningen drastiskt sjunka och risken för spridning av mikroplaster i naturen minimeras. De tre vanligaste textila fibrerna på marknaden, polyester, bomull och polyamid, orsakar stora utsläpp av CO2 och förbrukar enorma mängder vatten. Den här rapporten söker finna svar på vilka textila material som kan uppfylla kraven på hållbarhet och om det finns miljövänliga material med likvärdig slitstyrka som hos de tre största fiberslagen. Med hjälp av en litteraturstudie, ett klassificeringsverktyg och ett antal tester på fysiska prover har materialen ovan tillsammans med lyocell och PLA undersökts och studerats. Den ekologiska och den fysiska hållbarheten har jämförts och värderats. Resultatet av studierna ger inga entydiga svar på frågorna. PLA verkar lovande, men är omgiven av en osäkerhet. Under tiden studien har pågått finns inga tecken på försvagning av PLA-tyget, men kommer det hålla för hundra tvättar? Lyocell är miljömässigt hållbart och slitstarkt i teorin, men smulades tidigt sönder i nötningstestet. Lyocelltyget var gjort av tunt stapelfibergarn. Skulle det varit starkare om det varit tillverkat av filamentgarn? Återvunnen polyester kontra jungfrulig polyester ger ingen stor miljövinst. Däremot ger återvunnen polyamid och ekologisk bomull stora miljömässiga förtjänster. Lyocell, PLA, ekologisk bomull och återvunnen polyamid skulle kunna vara ekologiskt och fysiskt hållbara material. / Textiles and apparel manufacturing is a heavily polluting industry. To change that and get the textile industry in the direction of sustainable development, following must be done. Emissions of CO2 need to be considerably reduced, water consumption must drastically decline and the risk of spreading microplastics in nature have to be minimized. The three most common textile fibres on the market, polyester, cotton and polyamide, causing large emissions of CO2 and consumes huge amounts of water. This report seeks to find the textile materials that can meet the requirements of sustainability and eco-friendly materials of equivalent strength as in the three largest fibers like above. With the help of a literature review, a classification tool and a number of tests on physical samples have the materials above along with lyocell and PLA been examined and studied. The ecological sustainability and physical durability has been compared and measured. The results of the studies provides no clear-cut answers to the questions. The PLA seems promising, but are surrounded by uncertainty. In the meantime, the study has been going on, there are no signs of weakening of PLA-fabric, but will it keep for one hundred washes? Lyocell is environmentally sustainable and durable in the theory, but got an early break in the abrasion test. The lyocell fabric were made of thin yarn of staple fibers. Would it have been stronger if it had been made of filament yarn? Recycled polyester versus virgin polyester gives no great environmental benefits. However, recycled polyamide and organic cotton get large environmental gains. Lyocell, PLA, organic cotton and recycled polyamide could be environmentally and physically durable materials.

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a polymer chain consisting of repeating units of lactic acid (LA) used in various biomedical applications because of its biocompatible features. It is commonly used as a subdermal filler and constitutes as the main ingredient in SculptraR, which is a collagen regenerating filler used to treat lipoatrophy of the cheeks or to rejuvenate the skin. The presence of macrophages triggers a foreign body reaction in response to PLA, which in turn prompts fibroblasts to gradually increase collagen fibers in the dermis. This literature study investigates how physical properties such as Mw, morphology, stereochemistry as well as chemical properties, influence the biological response and degradation of PLA. Additionally, a comparison of other bio stimulants, substituents and copolymers were performed. The aim of this study was constructed in collaboration with Galderma. All aspects that were taken into consideration affected the biological response and degradation to some extent. The degradation of the PLLA microspheres has a noticeable correlation to the biological immune response. An increase in the Mw and degree of crystallinity results in a decrease in degradation rate. Morphology greatly influences the immune response and particle size is vital for the degradation as well as biostimulation. The most suitable stereoisomer of PLA is the (L)-form based on both biological response and degradation. Decomposition of PLLA varies depending on the Mw which is affected by the pH of the surrounding environment. Compared to other substances used in biodegradable products, PLLA is regarded as the most auspicious for a durable result. PDLLA has desirable biological responses but is degraded too fast. PDLA is not suitable as a dermal filler due to its inflammatory response and bad collagen regeneration.

Polylactic acid (PLA) resins of various molecular weights and molecular weight distributions were synthesized. Linear, narrow molecular weight distribution (MWD) PLA resins were synthesized, as well as resins containing both high molecular weight branched structures and low molecular weight chains and oligomers. Narrow MWD resins were synthesized for use as adhesives for corrugated paperboard and broad MWD resins were synthesized for use as a waterborne coating. PLA resins were dispersed for use as a waterborne coating. Success has been made at forming films utilizing various plasticizers and surfactants as well as polyvinyl alcohol as dispersing agents. A cold dispersion procedure realized the most success, as a 15% PLA waterborne formulation was achieved. Standard test methods show a high degree of grease resistance for the formulated coatings. A hot melt adhesive was also formulated utilizing blends of narrow MWD resins of various molecular weights. The hot melt adhesive showed a high degree of success as failure occurred at the substrate for the materials tested.

Etoposide has been shown to be effective in the treatment of testicular and small-cell lung cancers, lymphoma, leukemia and Kaposi's sarcoma. Several clinical investigations have suggested that the prolonged maintenance of greater than 1 $\mu$g/ml concentration in plasma would provide better therapeutic response in patients. Thus use of a sustained/controlled release formulation of etoposide was indicated. This investigation focused on the potential for the development of a sustained/controlled release dosage form of etoposide for a 7-15 day delivery using selected polylactic and polylactic-co-glycolic acid polymers. During the course of studies involving the enhancement of aqueous solubility of etoposide in our laboratory evidence of a potential thermally induced polymorphic transition was detected. Therefore, further characterization of this phenomenon was also included in this investigation. Thermal behavior of etoposide was characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, thermal gravimetric analysis, X-ray diffractometry, mass spectroscopy, IR spectra and HPLC analyses. A method for the preparation of micromatrices of etoposide was developed utilizing a suspension and solvent evaporation technique. DSC, IR and NMR investigations did not indicate any potential etoposide-polymer interaction. Etoposide I, a monohydrate, underwent a dehydration reaction between 85-115$\sp\circ$C to yield Etoposide Ia, which upon further heating melted at 198$\sp\circ$C and crystallized to a new polymorph, Etoposide IIa at 206$\sp\circ$C. Etoposide IIa was found to melt at 269$\sp\circ$C and converted to its hydrated form, Etoposide II when exposed to atmosphere at room temperature. The polymorphic transition was found to be irreversible and monotropic. Etoposide I, the currently marketed drug was used in all delivery systems examined. Formulation studies with polylactic acid polymers indicated that the molecular weight of the polymer was a key parameter in influencing the percent of drug entrapped in the micromatrices, particles size distribution and the drug release profiles. Glycolide-containing polymers demonstrated control of etoposide release only at low drug loadings: larger micromatrices showing better control. Polylactic acid 50,000 at 1:5 and 1:15 drug to polymer ratios exhibited maximum rate of drug release of 1.57 mg/hr. At this release rate, a delivery system containing 350 mg of etoposide could be expected to maintain a plasma concentration of 1.08 $\mu$g/ml over a period of 7 days. Additionally, drug release profile of polylactide-co-glycolide (85:15, 75-180 $\mu$m) microsphere formulation with 1:10 drug to polymer ratio, was found to be more appropriate for a 15-day release system based upon 700 mg of etoposide.

No description available.

The subject of this project is to study spun cellulose fibers made by Spinnova Oy inFinland. The fibers are spun using an environmentally friendly spinning process withoutuse of harsh chemicals.The spun filaments and the yarn based on these filaments were characterized and usedas reinforcement in polylactic acid biopolymer (PLA) and in biobased epoxy resin. Acomprehensive mechanical and morphological characterization of the single filamentsand their yarn was conducted. It was found that the single filaments are flat with a largewidth/thickness ratio, they are porous especially on one side and some cellulosemicrofibril orientation is observed on the filament surface. The single filaments are stiffand strong if compared to commercial regenerated cellulose filaments but are difficultto handle as they are very small and extremely light. The yarn showed to have lowermechanical properties but is easier to handle during the process of compositemanufacturing. Unidirectional fiber-reinforced composites were made using theSpinnova-yarn and PLA polymer applying film-stacking processing method. Thecomposite mechanical properties were studied and the results showed that themechanical performance of the PLA was significantly improved. The strength improvedfrom 54 MPa of the neat PLA to 95 MPa and the stiffness from 3.4 to 8.6 GPa withaddition of 22 wt% Spinnova-yarn.The main challenge of the project was handling the single filaments and their yarn todevelop a suitable manufacturing process which allows to exploit the potential of themto obtain a homogeneous fiber “preform” and to achieve good impregnation with the PLA matrix.

This thesis presents a model for the procedures of manufacturing Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) components by calculating required process parameters using empirical equations. Such an empirical model has been required within the FFF field of research for a considerable amount of time and will allow for an expansion in understanding of the fundamental mathematics of FFF. Data acquired through experimentation has allowed for a data set of geometric characteristics to be built up and used to validate the model presented. The research presented draws on previous literature in the fields of additive manufacturing, machine engineering, tool-path programming, polymer science and rheology. Combining these research fields has allowed for an understanding of the FFF process which has been presented in its simplest form allowing FFF users of all levels to incorporate the empirical model into their work whilst still allowing for the complexity of the process. Initial literature research showed that Polylactic Acid (PLA) is now in common use within the field of FFF and therefore was selected as the main working material for this project. The FFF technique, which combines extrusion and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) techniques, has a relatively recent history with little understood about the fundamental mathematics governing the process. This project aims to rectify the apparent gap in understanding and create a basis upon which to build research for understanding complex FFF techniques and/or processes involving extruding polymer onto surfaces.