Synthesis and characterization of poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) modified by maleic anhydride and 1,4-butanediamine

Bone tissue engineering is sought to apply strategies for bone defects healing biodegradable porous scaffolds without limitations and shortcomings. In this work, we have developed a novel maleic anhydride (MAH) and 1,4-butanediamine modified poly(lactide-co-glycolide) polymer (BMPLGA). The synthesized polymer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), Nuclear magnetic resonance spectra (¹H NMR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and contact angle measurements. In addition, cell morphologies in the extracts and cell cytotoxity were also studied. The results showed that the BMPLGA was successfully obtained by introducing MAH and 1,4-butanediamine into PLGA in bulk. The introduction of anhydride and amino groups improved the hydrophilicity of PLGA. Fibroblastic cells showed normal morphologies in BMPLGA extracts, and the BMPLGA materials showed no cell cytotoxicity. The synthetic BMPLGA material may have potentials for biomedical applications due to improving hydrophilicity.     

Nonisothermal crystallization and melting behavior of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and maleated poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)

Nonisothermal crystallization and melting behavior of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and maleated PHB were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry using various cooling rates. The results show that the crystallization behavior of maleated PHB from the melt greatly depends on cooling rates and its degree of grafting. With the increase in cooling rate, the crystallization process for PHB and maleated PHB begins at lower temperature. For maleated PHB, the introduction of maleic anhydride group hinders its crystallization, causing crystallization and nucleation rates to decrease, and crystallite size distribution becomes wider. The Avrami analysis, modified by Jeziorny, was used to describe the nonisothermal crystallization of PHB and maleated PHB. Double melting peaks for maleated PHB were observed, which was caused by recrystallization during the heating process.     

Miscibility in blends of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(vinylidene chloride-co-acrylonitrile)

Miscibility behavior of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [PHB]/poly(vinylidene chloride-co-acrylonitrile) [P(VDC-AN)] blends have been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and optical microscopy. Each blend showed a single T_g, and a large melting point depression of PHB. All the blends containing more than 40% PHB showed linear spherulitic growth behavior and the growth rate decreased with P(VDC-AN) content. The interaction parameter χ₁₂, obtained from melting point depression analysis, gave the value of −0.267 for the PHB/P(VDC-AN) blends. All results presented in this article lead to the conclusion that PHB/P(VDC-AN) blends are completely miscible in all proportions from a thermodynamic viewpoint. The miscibility in these blends is ascribed to the specific molecular interaction involving the carbonyl groups of PHB. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35: 2645–2652, 1997     

Synthesis and application of modified poly (styrene‐alt‐maleic anhydride) networks as a nano chelating resin for uptake of heavy metal ions

A chelating resin based on modified poly (styrene‐alt‐maleic anhydride) with 3‐aminobenzoic acid was synthesized. This modified resin was further reacted by 1,2‐diaminoethane or 1,3‐diaminopropane in the presence of ultrasonic irradiation to prepare tridimensional chelating resin for the removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions. The adsorption behavior of Fe(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II) ions was investigated by synthesized chelating resins in various pH. Among the synthesized resins, CSMA‐AB1 and CSMA‐AB2 demonstrated a high affinity for the selected metal ions compared to SMA‐AB, and the order of removal percentage changes as follow: Fe(II) > Cu(II) > Zn(II) > Pb(II). The adsorption of all metal ions in acidic medium was moderate, and it was favored at the pH value of 6 and 7. Also, the prepared resins were examined for removal of metal ions from industrial wastewater and were shown to have a very efficient adsorption in the case of Cu(II), Fe(II) and Pb(II); however, the adsorption of Zn(II) was lower than others. The resin was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction analysis and thermogravimetric analysis/derivative thermogravimetry. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dielectric relaxation study of atactic poly(epichlorohydrin)/poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) blends

Binary blends of atactic poly(epichlorohydrin) (aPECH) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) were investigated as a function of blend composition and crystallization conditions by dielectric relaxation spectroscopy. The quenched samples were found to be miscible in the whole composition range by detecting only one glass transition relaxation, for each composition, which could be closely described by the Gorden-Taylor equation. The cold-crystallized blends displayed two glass transition relaxations at all blend ratios indicating the coexisting of two amorphous populations: a pure aPECH phase dispersed mainly in the interfibrillar zones and a mixed amorphous phase held between crystal lamellae. The interlamellar trapping of aPECH was small and decreases with increasing the overall PHB content in the blend. At high crystallization temperatures the aPECH molecules was found to reside mainly in the interfibrillar regions due to its high mobility relative to the crystal growth rate of PHB. Our results suggest that because the intersegmental interaction in aPECH/PHB blends is weak, the mobility of the amorphous component at a given crystallization temperature decides diluent segregation.     

Melt modification of poly(styrene‐co‐maleic anhydride) with alcohols in the presence of 1,3‐oxazolines

Various copolyesteramides were prepared by melt compounding at 220 °C involving reaction of poly(styrene‐co‐maleic anhydride), SMA, with 6, 17, and 28 wt % maleic anhydride content, and 1‐dodecanol, C12OH, in the presence of 2‐undecyl‐1,3‐oxazoline, C11OXA. Copolymer architectures were examined by means of ¹H NMR, FTIR, DSC, and TGA using model compounds prepared via solution reactions. While conversion of anhydride with alcohol was poor due to the thermodynamically favored anhydride ring formation, very high conversions were achieved when stoichiometric amounts of C11OXA were added. According to spectroscopic studies esteramide groups resulted from reaction of oxazoline with carboxylic acid intermediate. In the absence of alcohol, C11OXA reacted with anhydride to produce esterimides. Effective attachment of flexible n‐alkyl side chains via simultaneous reaction of C12OH and C11OXA resulted in lower glass‐transition temperatures of copolyesteramides. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 1222–1231, 2000     

Syntheses of amphiphilic biodegradable copolymers of poly(ethyl ethylene phosphate) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) for drug delivery

Biodegradable and amphiphilic triblock copolymers poly(ethyl ethylene phosphate)-poly(3-hydroxy-butyrate)-poly(ethyl ethylene phosphate) (PEEP-b-PHB-b-PEEP) have been successfully synthesized through ring-opening polymerization. The structures are confirmed by gel permeation chromatography and NMR analyses. Crystallization investigated by X-ray diffraction reveals that the block copolymer with higher content of poly(ethyl ethylene phosphate) (PEEP) is more amorphous, showing decreased crystallizability. The obtained copolymers self-assemble into biodegradable nanoparticles with a core-shell micellar structure in aqueous solution, verified by the probe-based fluorescence measurements and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) observation. The hydrophobic poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) block serves as the core of the micelles and the micelles are stabilized by the hydrophilic PEEP block. The size and size distribution are related to the compositions of the copolymers. Paclitaxel (PTX) has been encapsulated into the micelles as a model drug and a sustained drug release from the micelles is observed. MTT assay also demonstrates that the block copolymers are biocompatible, rendering these copolymers attractive for drug delivery. Supported by the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (Grant No.20060358036)     

Crystallization behavior, thermal property and biodegradation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/poly(ethylene glycol) grafting copolymer

The poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)(PHB)/poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG) grafting copolymer was successfully prepared by PHB and acrylate groups ended PEGM using AIBN as initiator. The crystallization behavior, thermal stability and environmental biodegradability of PHB/PEG grafting copolymers were investigated with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Biodegradation test in vitro. In the results, all the grafting copolymers were found to show the X-ray diffraction arising from the PHB crystal lattice, while none of the PEG crystallized peaks could be found even though the graft percent reached 20%. This result indicated that PEG molecules were randomly grafted onto PHB chain. The thermal properties measured by DSC showed that the melting temperature(T_m) and glass transition temperature (T_g) were both shifted to lower temperature with the graft percent increasing, and this broadened the narrow processability window of PHB. According to TGA results, the thermal stability of the grafting copolymers is not changed compared to pure PHB. From the biodegradation test, it could be concluded that degradation occurred gradually from the surface to the inside and that the degradation rate could be adjusted by the PEG grafting ratio. In another words, the biodegradation profiles of PHB/PEG grafting copolymer can be controlled. These properties make PHB/PEG grafting copolymer have promising potential applications especially in agriculture fields.     

Glass bead grafting with poly(carboxylic acid) polymers and maleic anhydride copolymers

Glass beads were etched with acids and bases to increase the surface porosity and the number of silanol groups that could be used for grafting materials to the surfaces. The pretreated glass beads were functionalized using 3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) coupling agent and then further chemically modified by reacting the carboxyl groups of carboxylic acid polymers with the amino groups of the pregrafted APS. Several carboxylic acid polymers and poly(maleic anhydride) copolymers, such as poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), poly(methacrylic acid) (PMA), poly(styrene‐alt‐maleic anhydride) (PSMA), and poly(ethylene‐alt‐maleic anhydride) (PEMA) were grafted onto the bead surface. The chemical modifications were investigated and characterized by FT‐IR spectroscopy, particle size analysis, and tensiometry for contact angle and porosity changes. The amount of APS and the different polymer grafted on the surface was determined from thermal gravimetric analysis and elemental analysis data. Spectroscopic studies and elemental analysis data showed that carboxylic acid polymers and maleic anhydride copolymers were chemically attached to the glass bead surface. The improved surface properties of surface modified glass beads were determined by measuring water and hexane penetration rates and contact angle. Contact angles increased and porosity decreased as the molecular weights of the polymer increased. The contact angles increased with the hydrophobicity of the attached polymer. The surface morphology was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and showed an increase in roughness for etched glass beads. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of poly(β-hydroxybutyrate)

Kinetics of nonisothermal crystallization of poly(β-hydroxybutyrate) from melt and glassy states were performed by differential scanning calorimetry under various heating and cooling rates. Several different analysis methods were used to describe the process of nonisothermal crystallization. The results showed that both Avrami treatment and a new method developed by combining the Avrami equation and Ozawa equation could describe this system very well. However, Ozawa analysis failed. By using an evaluation method, proposed by Kissinger, activation energies have been evaluated to be 92.6 kJ/mol and 64.6 kJ/mol for crystallization from the glassy and melt state, respectively. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 1305–1312, 1998     

Photoinitiated grafting of maleic anhydride onto polypropylene

The photoinitiated grafting of maleic anhydride (MAH) onto polypropylene with the use of benzophenone (BP) as the initiator has been investigated. In comparison with the process of thermally initiated grafting with peroxide as the initiator, photoinitiated grafting affords a higher grafting efficiency. The efficient photografting sensitized by BP can be explained by two possible mechanistic processes: the sensitization of the formation of the excited triplet state of MAH by BP and electron transfer followed by proton transfer between MAH and the benzopinacol radical, which may operate together. In the former case, the generated MAH excited triplet state abstracts a hydrogen from the polymer substrate to initiate grafting. A rate constant of 3.6 × 10⁹ M ^?1 s ^?1 has been determined by laser flash photolysis for the process of quenching the excited triplet state of BP with ground‐state MAH. In comparison, the rate constant for the quenching of the excited triplet state of BP by hydrogen abstraction has been determined to be 4.1 × 10⁵ M ^?1 s ^?1. In a study of photografting using a model compound, 2,4‐dimethylpentane, as a small‐molecule analogue of polypropylene, the loss of BP was significantly reduced upon the addition of MAH, and this is consistent with the proposed mechanistic processes. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 1953–1962, 2004     

Isothermal crystallisation kinetics of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) using step-scan DSC

The crystallisation kinetics, melting behaviour and morphology, of bacterial poly(3-hydoxybutyrate) (PHB) have been investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), step-scan DSC (SDSC), wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXRD) and hot stage polarised optical microscopy (HSPOM). DSC imparted isothermal crystallisation thermal history. The subsequent melting behaviour revealed that all PHB materials experienced secondary crystallisation during heating and the extent of secondary crystallisation varied depending on the crystallisation temperature. PHB samples were found to exhibit double melting behaviour due to melting of SDSC scan-induced secondary crystals, while considerable secondary crystallisation or annealing took place under the modulated heating conditions. The overall melting behaviour was rationalised in terms of recrystallisation and/or annealing of crystals. Interestingly, the PHB materials analysed by SDSC showed a broad exotherm before the melting peak in the non-reversing curve and a multiple melting peak reversing curve, verifying that the melting-recrystallisation and remelting process was operative. HSOM studies supported the conclusions from DSC that the radial growth rate of the PHB spherulites was significantly varied upon the crystallisation conditions. One form of crystals was shown by WAXRD from isothermally crystallised PHB.     

Crystallization behavior and biodegradation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(ethylene glycol) multiblock copolymers

Block copolymerization by using isocyanates is an effective method for incorporating PHB and PEG because it can prepare copolymers with good properties, such as toughness, strength, and so on. In this study, we adopted soil suspension system to estimate the biodegradability of a series of PHB/PEG multiblock copolymers with different compositions and block lengths. In the degradation process, the changes in weight loss, molecular weight, and tensile strength were periodically measured to determine the biodegradability, and the surface morphology was also observed by SEM. In contrast to pure PHB, the weight loss of the copolymer was relatively lower. On the other hand, the tensile strength and molecular weight experienced apparent decrease, and for BHG1000-3-1, they reached 46.7% and 77.7% of the initial value, respectively. SEM observation showed that the surface was covered with numerous erosion pits. All these indicate that the degradation indeed took place and long-chain molecules have been hydrolyzed into shorter ones. The crystallization behavior was also investigated by DSC and WAXD. The results showed that both the segments, PEG and PHB, can form crystalline phases at lower PHB contents ranging from 29% to 44%, and when PHB component was more than 60%, only PHB phase can crystallize.     

Thermal Degradation and Kinetics of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/Organoclay Nanocomposites

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/Cloisite30B (PHB/30B) nanocomposites were prepared by solution-intercalation method. The influence of 30B content on the thermal stability of PHB was investigated. With the addition of 3 wt. % of 30B the highest thermal stability of PHB was achieved. The kinetic analysis of the non-isothermal degradation was performed using the isoconversional Friedman method and invariant kinetic parameters method.     

Effect of the initial maleic anhydride content on the grafting of maleic anhydride onto isotactic polypropylene

A series of ¹³C‐enriched maleic anhydride grafted isotactic polypropylene samples were prepared in solution at 170 °C by changes in the initial maleic anhydride content. The NMR spectra of the samples showed that the signals of the maleic anhydride attached to the tertiary carbons of the isotactic polypropylene chains increased considerably with increasing maleic anhydride content, whereas the signals of the maleic anhydride on the radical chain ends (with a single bond) arising from β scission did not. On the other hand, the signals of the maleic anhydride on the radical chain ends with double bonds increased markedly with increasing maleic anhydride content, and this suggested that β scission could occur extensively after maleic anhydride was attached to the tertiary carbons. As a result, the molecular weight of the grafted polypropylene decreased significantly with increasing maleic anhydride content in this study. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 5529–5534, 2005     

Thermal characterization of the interaction of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) with maleic anhydride

In this research, the effects of Al–5Ti–1B grain refiner and Al–10Sr modifier were studied on solidification characteristics and microstructural features of 319 aluminum alloy. Important solidification events such as recalescence and nucleation undercooling temperature and aluminum–silicon eutectic depression temperature have been evaluated using cooling curve and its first derivative curve obtained from thermal analysis of a sample. The aim of this article is to show the ability of the thermal analysis technique to predict some key parameters controlling solidification and casting process. It has been found that the thermal analysis is the identified method for a rapid on-line monitoring of metallurgical characteristics of aluminum alloy melts without conventional metallographic examination.     

Effect of poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) on thermal behavior and mechanical properties of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/poly(propylene carbonate) (PHB/PPC) blends

To assess the compatibility of blends of synthetic poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC), with a natural bacterial poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), a simple casting procedure of blend was used. poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/poly(propylene carbonate) blends are found to be incompatible according to DSC and DMA analysis. In order to improve the compatibility and mechanical properties of PHB/PPC blends, poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) was added as a compatibilizer. The effects of PVAc on the thermal behavior, morphology, and mechanical properties of 70PHB/30PPC blend were investigated. The results show that the melting point and the crystallization temperature of PHB in blends decrease with the increase of PVAc content in blends, the loss factor changes from two separate peaks of 70PHB/30PPC blend to one peak of 70PHB/30PPC/12PVAc blend. It is also found that adding PVAc into 70PHB/30PPC blend can decrease the size of dispersed phase from morphology analysis. The result of tensile properties shows that PVAc can increase the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of 70PHB/30PPC blend, and both the elongation at break and the tensile toughness increase significantly with PVAc added into 70PHB/30PPC.     

Miscibility and crystallinity of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) blends

With the objective of developing new biodegradable materials, the miscibility and the crystallinity of blends of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), P(3HB), and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate), P(3HB-co-3HV), have been studied. P(3HB) (300 kg mol⁻¹)/P(3HB-co-3HV)–10% 3HV (340 kg mol⁻¹) blends were prepared by casting in a wide range of proportions, and characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The experimental values for the glass transition temperatures (T_g) are in good agreement with the values provided by the Fox equation, showing that the blends are miscible. It was observed that the T_g and the melting temperature (T_m) decreases with the increase in the P(3HB-co-3HV)–10% 3HV content, while the crystallization temperature (T_c) increases. FT-IR analyses confirmed the decrease on the crystallinity of P(3HB)/P(3HB-co-3HV)–10% 3HV blends with higher copolymer contents. Bands related to the crystallinity were changed, due to the copolymer content that produced miscible and less crystalline blends.     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(styrene‐maleic anhydride)‐montmorillonite nanocomposite

Poly(styrene‐maleic anhydride)‐montmorillonite nanocomposites were prepared by intercalation of layered montmorillonite with the polymer ions. Synthetic approaches including polymerization and phosphonium salt formation have been used for polymer intercalation and dispersion of the host layers in the polymer matrix. The ratio of the mineral in the composites ranged 30–50%. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) disclosed that the d₍₀₀₁₎ spacing between the internal lamellar surface were only expanding to about 13 and 15 Å according to the type of phosphonium salt suggesting packing of polymer molecules between the layers. Examination of these materials by scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed spherical nano size particles of average diameter, 350 nm. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.