The Effect of Dulbecco’s ‘Eagle’ Medium on the Mass and Tribological Characteristics of PLA Samples: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

This preliminary study investigates the influence of Dulbecco’s Eagle medium on the mass stability and tribological performance of polylactic acid (PLA) samples produced by FDM 3D printing. Black PLA filament was printed on a Bambu Lab X1 Carbon printer with 15% and 20% infill densities. The samples were immersed in Dulbecco’s Eagle medium for 7 days at 37 ± 1°C, followed by 24 h of drying, and their mass was measured using a Kern AET-200 digital analytical balance. Mass results revealed a significant loss for the 15% infill samples (5.07%), while the 20% infill samples showed minimal change (0.29%). Tribological tests using a CSM nanotribometer indicated a higher coefficient of friction and deeper penetration depth for 15% infill specimens compared to 20% infill ones, confirming the role of structural density in degradation resistance. Future work will address infill variations up to 100% and longer immersion periods to evaluate long-term stability.