Structural and mechanical characterisation of cellulose nanofibers (CNF) from Pennisetum Purpureum reinforced with polylactic acid (PLA)

Abstract This study aims to develop a composite scaffold based on polylactic acid reinforced with cellulose nanofibers from Pennisetum purpureum (PLA/CNF). The composite scaffolds were prepared via solvent casting and particulate leaching technique; sodium chloride (NaCl) was used as the porogen material. The influence of CNF on PLA is investigated; scaffolds were fabricated with different content of CNF (5%, 10% and 15%). The prepared composite scaffold was characterised using porosity measurements, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and the compression strength and modulus were also evaluated in this study. The PLA/CNF scaffolds were highly porous with porosity higher than 80%. It was also shown that the porosity had a slight decrease with increasing CNF contents due to the compact arrangement of CNF within the scaffolds. Compression strength and modulus also show an increase in value as the CNF content increases. The results also show that introducing CNF to the PLA matrix can be considered beneficial for cartilage regeneration, cell attachment, and extracellular matrix (ECM) production.