Physical and thermo-mechanical properties of PCL/PEG based shape memory polyurethane for orthodontic ligature application.

Thermoplastic elastomer polyurethanes (TEPUs) were synthesized for orthodontic ligature application and the relationship between various properties and structure of the synthesized TEPUs were studied. Polyethylene glycol and 1,4-butanediol were utilized in various weight ratios as chain extender. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction were used to study the chemical and physical properties and also, tensile, stress relaxation, and elasticity analysis were performed to evaluate the mechanical properties of the prepared samples. Shape memory and stress relaxation analysis with temperature variation showed that the samples could recover the relaxed force due to the shape memory capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]