Poly(å-caprolactone) Homo-Blends: Regulated Materials Properties and Cell Responses

A series of poly(ε-caprolactone)s (PCLs) with different molecular weights has been used to prepare binary homo-blends consisting of a longer PCL and a shorter PCL at a range of compositions of the longer PCL. As well as their pure components, these PCL homo-blends have been characterized extensively in terms of thermal, rheological, and mechanical properties. Furthermore, banded spherulites have been found in some PCL homo-blends when crystallized at the temperatures close to their melting points. By varying the molecular weight of PCL and the blend composition, both bulk and surface properties can be controlled efficiently and correlated with regulation of MC3T3-E1 cell responses.