# Influence of the Type of Soft Segment on the Selected Properties of Polyurethane Materials for Biomedical Applications

## TL;DR

This study explores how different soft segments affect the properties of polyurethane materials for biomedical use.

## Contribution

The study introduces a new chain extender and evaluates the impact of various soft segments on polymer properties.

## Key findings

- The type of soft segment significantly influences the physicochemical and thermal properties of the polymers.
- Materials with a polycarbonate soft segment showed the most favorable properties for biomedical applications.

## Abstract

This work presents the synthesis and characterization of new TPUs obtained by melt polyaddition using 1,1′-methanediylbis(4-isocyanatocyclohexane) (HMDI, Desmodur W®), a new unconventional chain extender, i.e., (methanediyldibenze-ne-4,1-diyl)dimethanediol, and five types of soft segments differing in structure and molar masses. The structure of the obtained polymers was determined (by using the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction methods), and the physicochemical (reduced viscosity, density), optical (UV-VIS), processing (MFR) and thermal (DSC and TGA-FTIR) as well as surface, antibacterial and cytotoxic properties were determined. Based on the results obtained, it can be stated that the type of soft segment used significantly affects the properties of the obtained polymers. The most favorable properties for use in medicine were demonstrated by materials based on a polycarbonate soft segment.