Synthesis of poly(p-dioxanone)-based block copolymers in supercritical carbon dioxide

Poly(p-dioxanone)–poly(ethylene glycol)–poly(p-dioxanone) triblock copolymers (PPDO–PEG–PPDO) were first synthesized by suspension ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of p-dioxanone (PDO) in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) using different molecular weights (2–10 K) of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as macroinitiators. White and fine flow powders were successfully obtained when the molecular weight of PEG was below 6 K and its feed content below 20 wt.%. The ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) result indicated the formation of PPDO–PEG–PPDO block structure even in a confined polymerized environment of particles. All the powderous samples contained irregular shaped particles that were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Except for the copolymer with 10 wt.% PEG10K feed content, the mean particle sizes of other powderous samples showed identical values close to 15 μm. This fact was in agreement with the crystallinity of PPDO in the copolymers measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The water absorption of these copolymers was also measured, and as compared with PPDO homopolymer, the introduction of PEG increased the water absorption of the copolymers. The green and environmentally friendly method disclosed in this work is attractive to directly synthesize biodegradable polymeric particles with potential biomedical applications.     

A new approach to prepare high molecular weight poly(p-dioxanone) by chain-extending from dihydroxyl terminated propolymers

As poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO) with a high molecular weight (viscosity-average molecular weight (M_ν) > 100,000 g/mol) is not easy to be obtained in a short time, a new approach has been developed to produce high molecular weight poly(p-dioxanone) (HPPDO-T) by chain-extending reaction of hydroxyl-terminated PPDO (HPPDO) prepolymers using toluene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI) as chain extender. Here HPPDO prepolymers were synthesized via ring-opening polymerization of p-dioxanone (PDO) monomer initiated by 1,4-butanediol (BD) with Stannous octoate (SnOct₂) as catalyst. The resulting polymers, having a highest M_ν of 250,000 g/mol, were characterized by ¹H NMR, TG, DSC and WXRD. HPPDO prepolymers can react with TDI more effectively than the PPDO prepolymers initiated by mono-functional initiators, and the molecular weights of resulting chain-extended products increase several decade times in an hour comparing to the prepolymers. The chain extended products HPPDO-T have better thermal stability, and higher glass transition temperatures and lower crystallization rates than PPDO homopolymer.     

Preparation, characterization and hydrolytic degradation of poly[p-dioxanone-(butylene succinate)] multiblockcopolymer

A series of poly[p-dioxanone-(butylene succinate)] (PPDOBS) copolymers were prepared from p-dioxanone (PDO), 1,4-butanediol and succinate acids through a two-step process including the initial prepolymer preparation of poly(p-dioxanone)diol (PPDO-OH) and poly(butylene succinate)diol (PBS-OH) and the following copolymerization of the two kinds of prepolymers by coupling with hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI). The molecular structures of the prepared PPDO-OH, PBS-OH and PPDOBS were characterized by hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H NMR). The crystallization of the copolymers was investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized optical microscopy (POM) and wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). It has been shown that the crystallization rate and the degree of crystallization increases with the increase of the weight fraction of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) blocks in the copolymers. In phosphate buffer solution with pH 7.4 at 37 °C for 18 weeks, the hydrolytic degradation behaviors of the copolymers were studied. The changes of retention weight, water absorption, pH value, and surface morphologies with the degradation time showed that the hydrolytic degradation rate of PPDOBS could be controlled by adjusting the weight fraction of poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO) and PBS blocks in the copolymers. The changes of the thermal properties of PPDOBS during the degradation were also investigated by DSC.     

POLY(p-DIOXANONE) AND ITS COPOLYMERS

ABSTRACT

This paper reviews the synthesis, properties, and applications of biodegradable polymer, poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO), and its copolymers. Recent progress in ring-opening polymerization of p-dioxanone employing several effective catalysts is described. Properties of PPDO are given. The copolymers based on PPDO are also discussed.     

A facile approach to preparation of long-chain-branched poly(p-dioxanone)

Long-chain-branched poly(p-dioxanone)s (LCB-PPDOs) with different branch densities were prepared via the chain-extending reaction of hydroxyl group terminated linear bi-functional PPDO (2a-PPDO) and star-like tri-functional PPDO (3a-PPDO) prepolymers, which were synthesized by the ring-opening polymerization of p-dioxanone (PDO) using 1,4-butanediol (BD) and trimethylolpropane (TMP) as multi-functional initiators, respectively. The undesirable gelation was successfully depressed by adjusting the chain length and feed ratio of prepolymers. The average molecular weight between branch points (M_b) and the average number of branch per 100,000 g/mol (B_n) of LCB-PPDOs were calculated from the ¹H NMR spectra. The average number of branch ranged from 0 to 6.72 branch points per 100,000 g/mol, and the number-average molecular weights between branch points ranged from 6900 to 20,500 g/mol. The results of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that the crystallization behavior of LCB-PPDOs was changed evidently with the branch density. Small-amplitude dynamic oscillatory rheometer was used to investigate the rheological properties of the melts of LCB-PPDO including zero-shear viscosity, storage modulus, relaxation times and loss angle, which largely depended on the branch density and length of LCB-PPDOs. Therefore, the rheological behaviors of PPDO can be well-controlled via synthesizing LCB-PPDOs with the desired architectures.     

Microwave‐assisted ring‐opening polymerization of p‐dioxanone

The ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of p‐dioxanone (PDO) under microwave irradiation with triethylaluminum (AlEt₃) or tin powder as catalyst was investigated. When the ROP of PDO was catalyzed by AlEt₃, the viscosity‐average molecular weight (M_v) of poly(p‐dioxanone) (PPDO) reached 317,000 g mol^?1 only in 30 min, and the yield of PPDO achieved 96.0% at 80 °C. Tin powder was successfully used as catalyst for synthesizing PPDO by microwave heating, and PPDO with M_v of 106,000 g mol^?1 was obtained at 100 °C in 210 min. Microwave heating accelerated the ROP of PDO catalyzed by AlEt₃ or tin powder, compared with the conventional heating method. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 3207–3213, 2008     

Synthesis of polystyrene/SiO2 composite microparticles by dispersion polymerization in supercritical fluid

A novel synthetic route to prepare polystyrene/SiO₂ composite microparticles in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) is presented. Silica particles with the size of 130 nm which were surface-modified with 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate were used as seeds in the dispersion polymerization of styrene in the presence of a polymeric stabilizer, poly(1,1-dihydroheptafluorobutyl methacrylate-co-diisopropylaminoethyl methacrylate) to produce dry composite particles. The transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that the composite microspheres contained several silica particles.     

Surface‐initiated ring‐opening polymerization of p‐dioxanone on Wang resin bead

Biodegradable poly(p‐dioxanone) (PPDO) was formed on Wang resin surface by surface‐initiated ring‐opening polymerization (SI‐ROP). The SI‐ROP of p‐dioxanone (PDO) was achieved by heating a mixture of Tin(II) bis(2‐ethylhexanoate) [Sn(Oct)₂], hydroxyl functionalized Wang resin, and PDO in anhydrous toluene at 80 °C. The resultant polymer‐grafted Wang resin (Wang‐g‐PPDO) was characterized by fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), optical microscopy (OM), and field‐emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM). The FTIR spectra of Wang‐g‐PPDO show peak characteristic of PPDO at 2943 cm^?1 (? C? H stretch), at 1741 cm^?1 (? C?O stretch), and 1136 cm^?1 (C? O? C stretch) indicating the formation of ester linkage between PPDO and hydroxyl terminated Wang resin. The DSC thermogram show melting peak corresponding to PPDO polymer on Wang resin surface. Thermogravimetric investigation shows increase in PPDO content on the Wang resin surface in terms of percentage of weight loss with increase in reaction time. The OM and SEM photographs clearly show the formation of PPDO polymer on the Wang resin surface without altering the spherical nature of Wang resin bead. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 1178–1184, 2008     

Ring-opening polymerization of l-lactide in supercritical carbon dioxide using PDMS based stabilizers

Ring-opening suspension polymerization of l-lactide in supercritical CO₂ (scCO₂) was investigated in the presence of different stabilizer architectures based on poly(dimethyl siloxanes) (PDMS). Two amphiphilic AB type block copolymers, a graft copolymer, and an ester-capped PDMS were selected to find their efficacy as stabilizers for the synthesis of poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) in scCO₂. The stabilizer’s efficiency was analyzed in terms of the molecular weight, yield, and particle morphology of PLLA. The block copolymers, poly(dimethylsiloxane)-b-poly(acrylic acid) (PDMS-b-PAA) and poly(dimethylsiloxane)-b-poly(methacrylic acid) (PDMS-b-PMA) were found to be effective, leading to the formation of fine, discrete PLLA microparticles. On the other hand, the graft copolymer, poly(dimethylsiloxane-g-pyrrolidonecarboxylic acid) (PDMS-g-PCA) and acetylated PDMS (PDMS-OAc) failed to give an enough stabilization to the PLLA due to their short polymer-philic chains, resulting in hard agglomerates.     

Synthesis of metal‐free poly(1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one) by enzyme‐catalyzed ring‐opening polymerization

To avoid the harmful effects of metallic residues in poly(1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one) (PPDO) for medical applications, the enzymatic polymerization of 1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one (PDO) was carried out at 60 °C for 15 h with 5 wt % immobilized lipase CA. The lipase CA, derived from Candida antarctica, exhibited especially high catalytic activity. The highest weight‐average molecular weight (M_w = 41,000) was obtained. The PDO polymerization by the lipase CA occurred because of effective enzyme catalysis. The water component appeared to act not only as a substrate of the initiation process but also as a chain cleavage agent. A slight amount of water enhanced the polymerization, but excess water depressed the polymerization. PPDO prepared by enzyme‐catalyzed polymerization is a metal‐free polyester useful for medical applications. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 1560–1567, 2000     

Novel fluorinated stabilizers for ring‐opening polymerization in supercritical carbon dioxide

Ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) has been the subject of much recent interest, although few publications describe the development of stabilizers to produce biodegradable particles of poly(L ‐lactide) (PLLA) and polyglycolide (PGA). Here we describe the synthesis of a series of novel fluorinated diblock copolymers by the acid‐catalyzed esterification of well‐defined blocks of polycaprolactone (PCL) with Krytox 157FSL, a carboxylic acid terminated perfluoropolyether. These diblock copolymers were then tested as stabilizers in the ROP of glycolide and L ‐lactide, or a mixture of the two, in scCO₂, and this resulted in the corresponding homopolymers or random copolymers. In the absence of stabilizers, only aggregated solids were formed. When the reaction was repeated with a stabilizer, PGA and PLLA were obtained as discrete microparticles. The stabilizer efficiency increased as the length of the polymer‐philic PCL block increased. One optimized stabilizer worked at loadings as low as 3% (w/w) with respect to the monomer, demonstrating these to be extremely effective stabilizers. It was found that to produce microparticles with this process, the product polymers must be semicrystalline; amorphous polymers, such as poly(lactide‐co‐glycolide), are plasticized by scCO₂ and yield only aggregated solids rather than discrete particles. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 6573–6585, 2005     

Kinetics of thermal degradation and thermal oxidative degradation of poly(p-dioxanone)

The kinetics of the thermal degradation and thermal oxidative degradation of poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO) were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. Kissinger method, Friedman method, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa method and Coats-Redfern method have been used to determine the activation energies of PPDO degradation. The results showed that the thermal stability of PPDO in pure nitrogen is higher than that in air atmosphere. The analyses of the solid-state processes mechanism of PPDO by Coats-Redfern method and Criado et al. method showed: the thermal degradation process of PPDO goes to a mechanism involving random nucleation with one nucleus on the individual particle (F₁ mechanism); otherwise, the thermal oxidative degradation process of PPDO is corresponding to a nucleation and growth mechanism (A₂ mechanism).     

An efficient approach to synthesize polysaccharides‐graft‐poly(p‐dioxanone) copolymers as potential drug carriers

Starch and poly(p‐dioxanone) (PPDO) are the natural and synthetic biodegradable and biocompatible polymers, respectively. Their copolymers can find extensive applications in biomedical materials. However, it is very difficult to synthesize starch‐graft‐PPDO copolymers in common organic solvents with very good solubility. In this article, well‐defined polysaccharides‐graft‐poly(p‐dioxanone) (SA_n‐PPDO) copolymers were successfully synthesized via the ring‐opening polymerization of p‐dioxanone (PDO) with an acetylated starch (SA) initiator and a Sn(Oct)₂ catalyst in bulk. The copolymers were characterized via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ¹H NMR, gel permeation chromatography, thermogravimetric analysis (TG), differential scanning calorimetry, and wide angle x‐ray diffraction. The in vitro degradation results showed that the introduction of SA segments into the backbone chains of the copolymers led to an enhancement of the degradation rate, and the degradation rate of SA_n‐PPDO increased with the increase of SA wt %. Microspheres with an average volume diameter of 20 μm, which will have potential applications in controlled release of drugs, were successfully prepared by using these new copolymers. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 5344–5353, 2009     

Preparation and characterization of a novel biodegradable poly(p‐dioxanone)/montmorillonite nanocomposite

Poly(p‐dioxanone) (PPDO)/montmorillonite nanocomposites were prepared through the in situ ring‐opening polymerization of p‐dioxanone (PDO) and three types of montmorillonites (natural sodium montmorillonite, montmorillonite modified by octadecyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, and montmorillonite modified by hydroxyethylhexadecyldimethyl ammonium bromine) in the presence of triethylaluminum. Montmorillonite could accelerate the polymerization of PDO, and the viscosity‐average molecular weight of PPDO could reach 44,900 g/mol in 0.5 h. A nucleating effect of montmorillonite was observed, and the crystallization temperature of PPDO was increased by 18 °C. All three montmorillonites could improve the thermal stability of PPDO and increase the glass‐transition and melting temperatures of PPDO. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 2298‐2303, 2005     

Enhanced thermal stability of poly(1,4-dioxan-2-one) in melt by adding a chelator

Thermal stability of poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO) was investigated isothermally and non-isothermally under air atmosphere using thermogravimetry (TG). The addition of 4-benzoyl-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one (PMBP) could enhance successfully the thermal stability of PPDO compared with those of as-prepared and purified PPDO at temperature below about 230 °C. The activation energies for thermal degradation (ΔE_td) were evaluated at different weight loss values from TG data using the procedure recommended by MacCallum et al. The ΔE_td values of as-prepared PPDO, purified PPDO and PPDO containing 1.0 wt% PMBP were in the ranges of 20-50, 35-60, and 56-88 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively, when they were evaluated at weight loss values of 10-80%. The remaining weights increase with the amounts of PMBP added up to 1.5 wt%. The mechanism for the enhanced thermal stability of PPDO was discussed.     

Copolymerization of poly(vinyl alcohol)‐graft‐poly(1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one) with designed molecular structure by a solid‐state polymerization method

Poly(vinyl alcohol)‐graft‐poly(1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one) (PVA‐g‐PPDO) with designed molecular structure was synthesized by a solid‐state polymerization. The solid‐state copolymerization was preceded by a graft copolymerization of PDO initiated with PVA as a multifunctional initiator, and Sn (Oct)₂ as a coininitiator/catalyst in a homogeneous molten state. The polymerization temperature was then decreased and the copolymerization was carried out in a solid state. The products prepared by solid‐state polymerization were characterized by ¹H NMR and DSC, and were compared with those synthesized in the homogeneous molten state. The degree of polymerization (D_p), degree of substitution (D_s), yield and the average molecular weight of the graft copolymer with different molecular structure were calculated from the ¹H NMR spectra. The results show that the crystallization process during the solid‐state polymerization may suppress the undesirable inter‐ or intramolecular side reactions, then resulting in a controlled molecular structure of PVA‐g‐PPDO. The results of DSC measurement show that the molecular structures determine the thermal behavior of the PVA‐g‐PPDO. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 3083–3091, 2006     

Synthesis of cross-linked poly (<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-isopropylacrylamide) microparticles in supercritical carbon dioxide

Herein, we report a new method that has been developed to prepare thermoresponsive polymers. The white, dry, fine powders were obtained directly from cross-linking polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) with N,N-methylenebisacrylamide as a cross-linker. The effects of the reaction pressure and time as well as the initial concentrations of the initiator, cross-linker, and monomer on the yield and morphology of the resulting polymer were investigated systematically. The polymer yield was increased with the concentrations of the cross-linker, monomer, and reaction time. Under the condition of using higher cross-linker concentrations, the cross-linked poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) microparticles with diameters of 50 nm were generated in scCO₂ in high-yield and short reaction times. These results suggest that the synthetic method using scCO₂ can be used to prepare biomedical materials such as the controlled drug-release system.     

Effect of PEG on the crystallization of PPDO/PEG blends

A new biodegradable polymer system, poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO)/poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) blend was prepared by a solvent casting method using chloroform as a co-solvent. The PPDO/PEG blends have different weight ratios of 95/5, 90/10, 80/20 and 70/30. Crystallization of homopolymers and blends were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). When 5% of PEG was blended, the crystallization exothermal peaks (T_c) of PPDO increased sharply and the crystallization exothermal peaks (T_c) of PEG decreased slightly compared with the homopolymers. The crystallization rates of both components increased, and caused greater relative crystallization degree (X_t%). But when the content of PEG was more than 5%, the crystalline behaviors of blends had no more significant changes accordingly. The melting points of each sample varied little over the entire composition range in this study. The nonisothermal crystallization of PPDO homopolymer and blend (PPDO/PEG = 70/30) were also studied by DSC. The crystallization began at a higher temperature when the cooling rates were slower. The nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of blends was analyzed by Ozawa equation. The results showed that the Ozawa equation failed to describe the whole crystallization of the blend, but Mo equation could depict the nonisothermal crystallization perfectly.     

Enhanced thermal stability of poly(p-dioxanone) in melt by adding an end-capping reagent

For the enhancement of thermal stability of poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO), the isocyanate end-capping reagent was prepared by treatment of toluene-2,4-diisocyanate with an equivalent of 1-hexyl alcohol. The end-capping reagent and the end-capping PPDO with an inherent viscosity of 0.26 dL g⁻¹ were characterized by FTIR and ¹H-NMR. Thermal stability of the end-capping PPDO with an inherent viscosity of 0.92 dL g⁻¹ was investigated isothermally and non-isothermally under air atmosphere using thermogravimetry. It has been shown that the addition of the prepared isocyanate can enhance significantly the thermal stability of PPDO. The activation energies for non-isothermal degradation estimated by Kissinger method and Friedman method are 91, 81 kJ mol⁻¹ for as-prepared PPDO, and 160, 149 kJ mol⁻¹ for the end-capping PPDO, respectively. The activation energy increases by about 70 kJ mol⁻¹ through the end-capping.     

A water-soluble PPDO/PEG alternating multiblock copolymer: Synthesis, characterization, and its gel-sol transition behavior

Biodegradable and nontoxic alternating multiblock copolymers based on poly (p-dioxanone) (PPDO) and poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) were synthesized by the coupling reaction of two bifunctional prepolymers, a dihydroxyl-terminated PPDO and dicarboxylated PEG. The prepolymers and the resulting PPDO/PEG multiblock copolymers were characterized by various analytical techniques such as FT-IR, ¹H NMR, GPC, DSC and TG. At high concentration levels above critical gelation concentration (CGC), the aqueous solution of copolymers formed a gel. Temperature-sensitive gel to sol transition behaviors were investigated by the test tube inverting method. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) was used to investigate the micelle of copolymers, whose association probably caused the gelation of the system. Therefore, this novel copolymer has a great potential in injectable drug-delivery system for long-term delivery of drugs.