Investigation of mechanical integrity and high-cycle fatigue behavior of 3D-printed PLA/PCL blend after exposure to a physiological environment
Open accessAbstract
Polylactic-Acid/Polycaprolactone blends are promising biopolymers to be used in bioabsorbable implants, offering a range of mechanical properties which could be tailored according to their final applications. This study investigates the corrosion behavior, tensile properties, and high cycle fatigue performance of 3D-printed PLA/20 %PCL specimens after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF), a solution that mimics the ionic composition of human plasma to simulate in vivo degradation, for different durations including 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks. After 8 weeks of immersion in SBF, pure PLA and PLA/20 %PCL respectively exhibited a weight loss of 1.68 % and 4.33 %, a pH decreases of 18.9 % and 24.3 %, and a water uptake increase of 12.2 % and 16.7 %. Furthermore, ultimate tensile strength (UTS), which represents the maximum stress a material can withstand before failure, decreased by 41 % and 36 %, and Young's Modulus reduced by 45 % and 20 % in the pure PLA and PLA/20 %PCL specimens, respectively. After 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks of immersion, the fatigue limit of the pure PLA respectively decreased by 3 %, 3.8 %, 6.2 %, and 10 %. However, after similar immersion times, PLA/20 %PCL blend showed larger reductions of 3.7 %, 10.3 %, 15.4 %, and 31.8 %, respectively. Despite the steeper decline in fatigue performance, of the PLA/20 %PCL blend, still exhibited a higher fatigue limit after 8 weeks of immersion, compared with that of the corroded pure PLA. This improved fatigue behavior of the PLA/PCL blend could be attributed to its superior toughness and, higher maximum elongation, suggesting its potential as a promising candidate for temporary orthopedic implants.
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The 80/20 PLA/PCL blend ratio was used to fabricate blends, and both the mechanical and thermal properties of the resulting 3D printed scaffolds were significantly improved.
“In other studies, this PLA/PCL blend ratio (i.e., 80/20) was also used to fabricate the blends and it was found that both the mechanical and thermal properties of the resulting 3D printed scaffolds were significantly improved [94,95].”
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- Authors
- Kiani, P., Sedighi, M., Kasaeian-Naeini, M., & Jabbari, A. H.
- Affiliations
- Iran University of Science and Technology (IR)
- Corresponding author
- Sedighi, M.
- Venue
- Journal of Materials Research and Technology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2025-05
- Volume
- 36
- Pages
- 3671-3683
- ISSN
- 2214-0697 (ISSN-L)
- 2238-7854
- OpenAlex
- W4409284225
- Cited by
- 21
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 6
- FWCI
- 4.42
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Materials Research and Technology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Bone Tissue Engineering Materials
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies
- Keywords
- polylactic acid, polycaprolactone, PLA/PCL blends, 3D printing, high cycle fatigue, simulated body fluid, biodegradation, bioabsorbable implants, tensile properties, fatigue limit, water absorption, weight loss, orthopedic implants, biopolymers
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