E. N. Antonov, L. I. Krotova, N. V. Minaev, S. A. Minaeva, A. V. Mironov, V. K. Popov, V. N. Bagratashvili, “Surface-selective laser sintering of thermolabile polymer particles using water as heating sensitizer”, Kvantovaya Elektronika, 2015, Volume 45, Number 11,Pages <nobr>1023

This article is cited in 14 papers

Interaction of laser radiation with matter. Laser plasma

Surface-selective laser sintering of thermolabile polymer particles using water as heating sensitizer

E. N. Antonov^a, L. I. Krotova^a, N. V. Minaev^a, S. A. Minaeva^a, A. V. Mironov^a, V. K. Popov^a, V. N. Bagratashvili^ba

^a Institute on Laser and Information Technologies, Russian Academy of Scienses, Shatura, Moskovskaya obl.
^b Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Chemistry

Abstract: We report the implementation of a novel scheme for surface-selective laser sintering (SSLS) of polymer particles, based on using water as a sensitizer of laser heating and sintering of particles as well as laser radiation at a wavelength of 1.94 μm, corresponding to the strong absorption band of water. A method of sintering powders of poly(lactide-co-glycolide), a hydrophobic bioresorbable polymer, after modifying its surface with an aqueous solution of hyaluronic acid is developed. The sintering thresholds for wetted polymer are by 3–4 times lower than those for sintering in air. The presence of water restricts the temperature of the heated polymer, preventing its thermal destruction. Polymer matrices with a developed porous structure are obtained. The proposed SSLS method can be applied to produce bioresorbable polymer matrices for tissue engineering.

Keywords: surface-selective laser sintering, three-dimensional polymer structures, water, wettability.

PACS: 42.62.Be, 42.62.Cf, 87.85.-d

Received: 25.03.2015
Revised: 26.06.2015