{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,6]],"date-time":"2026-02-06T20:59:01Z","timestamp":1770411541740,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,6]],"date-time":"2026-02-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770336000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Podkarpackie Innovation Center","award":["36\/UR\/1\/DG\/PCI\/2021"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["36\/UR\/1\/DG\/PCI\/2021"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB) was used to produce biocompatible composites with hypromellose as an additive. The study aimed to assess their biological and mechanical properties, as well as specific thermal parameters and phase content. Differential scanning calorimetry was applied to analyze the phase transitions of both biocomposites and the polymer matrix. Furthermore, the thermal parameters\u2014encompassing both non-equilibrium and equilibrium states\u2014of the biocomposites and unfilled P3HB were evaluated according to their thermal history. Using equilibrium parameters such as the heat of fusion for fully crystalline materials and the heat capacity change at the glass transition for fully amorphous composites, we estimated the degrees of crystallinity as well as the mobile and rigid amorphous fractions. Adding hypromellose to the P3HB matrix reduced crystallinity compared to the unfilled material. At the same time, an increase in the amorphous phase was observed. It was also discovered that the rigid amorphous fraction exists solely in biocomposites containing 2% by mass of filler. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the thermal stability of all biocomposites surpasses that of unfilled P3HB. Adding an extra 1% filler by mass raises the degradation temperature by about 37 \u00b0C compared to unfilled P3HB. The immunosafety of the tested biocomposites, with very low or no endotoxin contamination, was confirmed in accordance with Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency guidelines. The study clearly demonstrates the influence of the filler in the P3HB matrix on various structural, thermal, mechanical, and biological properties of the prepared biocomposites.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27031596","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,6]],"date-time":"2026-02-06T10:05:47Z","timestamp":1770372347000},"page":"1596","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Tracking the Progress of Biocomposites Based on Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) with Hypromellose Additives via Thermal Analysis, Mechanical Properties, and Biological Studies"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7436-4929","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Karolina","family":"Maternia-Dudzik","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Biophysics, Centre for Innovative Research in Medical and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rzeszow, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4562-1639","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u0141ukasz","family":"O\u017c\u00f3g","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Biophysics, Centre for Innovative Research in Medical and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rzeszow, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rzeszow, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7035-0677","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zuzanna","family":"Bober","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Biophysics, Centre for Innovative Research in Medical and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rzeszow, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rzeszow, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1319-6199","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rafa\u0142","family":"Oliwa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Polymer Composites, Faculty of Chemistry, Rzeszow University of Technology, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5515-8575","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mariusz","family":"Oleksy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Polymer Composites, Faculty of Chemistry, Rzeszow University of Technology, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5565-2100","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Angelika","family":"Kamizela","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Biophysics, Centre for Innovative Research in Medical and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rzeszow, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rzeszow, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-2086-7832","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Agnieszka","family":"Szyszkowska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Provincial Hospital in Kielce, 25-736 Kielce, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Katarzyna","family":"Rafi\u0144ska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Chemistry and Bioanalytics, Faculty of Chemistry, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, 87-100 Torun, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5231-5341","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Weronika","family":"Gonciarz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Immunology and Infectious Biology, Institute of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, 90-237 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5938-6636","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kamil","family":"Gancarczyk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Material Science, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, Rzeszow University of Technology, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Anna","family":"Czerniecka-Kubicka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Biophysics, Centre for Innovative Research in Medical and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rzeszow, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rzeszow, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kalia, V.C., Patel, S.K.S., and Lee, J.K. 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