Degradable polymer nanocomposites for fused filament fabrication applications

Abstract

The use of plastics in everyday life has increased dramatically during the course of the 20th and 21st century which is primarily due to the characteristics plastics offer in the development of new products to meet the challenges of modern society It has been reported that in 2015 approximately 300 million tons of plastic material was produced around the world, most of which was derived from the ever depleting petroleum feedstocks. This has resulted in polymers attracting increased interest owing to the growing concern with regards to both the environment and decrease in fossil resources and as a direct result has led to a substantial interest in switching to suitable eco friendly alternatives of already existing polymers which afford similar properties to that of their depleting counterparts Over the last number of decades, the study of both resorbable and degradable polymers has been investigated to a great extent including their use as implants, stents, drug delivery devices and in the area of personalized medicine, with the vast majority, e g poly(ε caprolactone), polyvinyl alcohol and polylactide acid, being produced from renewable sources Although non degradable polymers may be utilized in such applications it can become problematic if an implant or small device has to be retrieved via surgical intervention illustrating why degradable polymers may be advantageous in such applications. Furthermore, emerging technologies have also become intertwined with such applications and Fused Filament Fabrication ( a form of 3 Dimensional 3 D) printing, has demonstrated the possibilities of using degradable polymers in the production of solid dosage forms.