Biodegradation of copolymers composed of optically active L‐lactide and (R)‐ or (S)‐1‐methyltrimethylene carbonate

Random copolymerizations of L ‐lactide with (R)‐, (S)‐, or rac‐1‐methyltrimethylene carbonate with bis(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) samarium‐methyl tetrahydrofuranate (C₅Me₅)₂SmMe(THF)] as a novel initiator provided high molecular weight polymers with low polydispersities. Biodegradation of the resulting polymers with tricine and {N‐tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl]‐2‐aminoethane sulfonic acid (TES) buffers as well as activated sludge showed only a small weight loss, whereas the polymer with proteinase K revealed high biodegradability independent of the optical activity of 1‐methyltrimethylene carbonate. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3916–3927, 2001