Synthesis of biodegradable amphiphilic AB‐type diblock copolymers of lactide and depsipeptide with pendant reactive groups

The syntheses of amphiphilic AB‐type diblock copolymers composed of hydrophobic polylactide segment and hydrophilic polydepsipeptide segment with amino or carboxyl groups were performed. The protected cyclodepsipeptides cyclo[Glc‐Lys(Z)] and cyclo[Glc‐Asp(OBzl)] (where Glc is glycolic acid, Lys is lysine, Asp is aspartic acid, Z is benzyloxycarbonyl, and OBzl is benzyl) were first polymerized in tetrahydrofuran (THF) with potassium ethoxide as an initiator to obtain the corresponding protected polydepsipeptides. After the terminal hydroxyl groups of the protected polydepsipeptides were converted into the potassium alcoholates with K/naphthalene, L ‐lactide was polymerized in the presence of the corresponding polymeric alcoholates as macroinitiators in THF to obtain poly[Glc‐Lys(Z)]‐block‐poly(L ‐lactide) and poly[Glc‐Asp(OBzl)]‐block‐poly(L ‐lactide). Subsequent deprotection of Z and OBzl groups gave the objective amphiphiles poly(Glc‐Lys)‐block‐poly(L ‐lactide) and poly(Glc‐Asp)‐block‐poly(L ‐lactide), respectively. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 1218–1225, 2002     

Bioresorbable Hydrogels Prepared Through Stereocomplexation between Poly(L‐lactide) and Poly(D‐lactide) Blocks Attached to Poly(ethylene glycol)

Block copolymers were synthesized by ring‐opening polymerization of L ‐lactide or D ‐lactide in the presence of mono‐ or dihydroxyl poly(ethylene glycol), using zinc metal as catalyst. The resulting copolymers were characterized by various techniques, namely ¹H NMR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X‐ray diffractometry, and Raman spectrometry. The composition of the copolymers was designed such that they were water soluble. Bioresorbable hydrogels were prepared from aqueous solutions containing both poly(L ‐lactide)/poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(D ‐lactide)/poly(ethylene glycol) block copolymers. Rheological studies confirmed the formation of hydrogels resulting from stereocomplexation between poly(L ‐lactide) and poly(D ‐lactide) blocks.

Ring‐opening polymerization of L (D )‐lactide in the presence of dihydroxyl PEG using zinc powder as catalyst.     

聚己内酯-聚丙交酯-聚醚三元共聚高分子微粒及其降解的研究

用乳化－ 溶剂蒸发法制备了聚己内酯－ 聚丙交酯－ 聚醚三元无规共聚物微粒,且与用相同方法制备的聚己内酯（ＰＣＬ） 和聚己内酯－ 聚醚嵌段共聚物微粒的形态进行了比较,讨论了材料的亲水性,以及三元无规共聚物中亲水性聚醚链段的长度及含量对所形成微粒形态的影响。研究结果表明,随着聚合物由疏水性向亲水性转变,所生成微粒的形态则从光滑、多孔、到不规则变化。证明了三元无规共聚物多孔微粒的形成是由于亲水的聚醚链段向水相取向所致。在３７ ℃、ｐＨ７ ．４ 的缓冲液中进行了三元无规共聚物微粒的降解,结果表明,随着降解时间的延长, 三元无规共聚物的分子量逐渐下降,且其中的聚醚链段含量有明显的降低。     

Synthesis and properties of polylactide terpolymers P(LLA‐TMC‐GA) catalyzed by zirconium (IV) acetylacetonate

A series of L‐lactide (LLA), 1,3‐trimethylene carbonate (TMC) and glycolide (GA) terpolymers (LTG) of different monomer molar ratios were synthesized by using ring‐opening copolymerization. An effective and low‐toxic zirconium (IV) acetylacetonate Zr(Acac)₄ was used as catalyst. The viscosity‐average molecular weights (M_η) of obtained polymers were all above 2.2×10⁴ g/mol. The chemical structure and viscosity of terpolymers were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (¹HNMR), ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (¹³CNMR) and an Ubbelohde viscometer. The thermal and mechanical properties were investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and stress‐strain measurements. Results suggested that all terpolymers were amorphous and showed good thermal stability. Also it was found that elongation increased with the decreasing of LLA unit. More importantly, terpolymers displayed shape memory property when deformation temperatures were 14‐15 °C above T_g.     

A Clean Strategy to Prepare Polylactide/Hydroxyapatite Bionanocomposites via Solid Mechanochemistry

Polylactide (PLA) chains were ruptured to generate free macroradicals terminated on the surface of hydroxyapatite (HA) by means of a strong shear stress generated via solid-state shear milling, achieving the solid grafting of PLA on HA without chemical treatment. As a result, the interfacial interaction between PLA and HA and the dispersion of HA in PLA were improved, resulting in significant promotion of the crystallization of PLA and thus PLA/HA composites with higher performance were obtained. This study opened up a new, clean and uncontaminated strategy to prepare PLA/HA bionanocomposites.     

Amphiphilic polylactide-poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide) block copolymers: Self-assembly behavior and cell affinity

Polylactide (PLA) is a biodegradable polyester recognized for its potential use as a biomedical material. Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and copolymers based on PEO and poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) are biocompatible polyethers widely applied in the biomedical field, particularly as macromolecular nonionic surfactants. In this work, PLA blocks were attached to the PEO and to the PEO and PPO-based triblock copolymer PEO–PPO–PEO, through ring-opening polymerization of racemic lactide (rac-LA) to obtain the amphiphilic triblock PLA–PEO–PLA and pentablock PLA–PEO–PPO–PEO–PLA copolymers containing hydrophilic/hydrophobic blocks with variable block mass ratios. The copolymers were evaluated for chemical composition, molar mass, and thermal properties, and they were used to prepare self-assemble aggregates in water from tetrahydrofuran polymer solutions. The combination of scattering light experiments and microscopy techniques revealed the spherical morphology of the aggregates with diameters around 180–200 nm, which comprises a hydrophobic PLA core and a hydrophilic polyether shell. The aggregates are nontoxic to human cervical cancer cell line — HeLa cells, as determined by MTS assay, and the aggregates are potential candidates to be applied in the encapsulation of hydrophobic compounds. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 2203–2213     

聚乳酸-聚乙二醇单甲醚共混体系的调制DSC分析

采用调制差示扫描量热法(MDSC)研究了聚乳酸(PLA)与聚乙二醇单甲醚(MPEG)共混体系的热性能。研究结果表明,MDSC可有效分辨PLA重结晶和熔融的重叠效应,在测试条件下,PLA的α’-α晶型转变与α晶体的熔融几乎同时进行。随着升温速率的加快和调制周期的延长,当增塑剂的质量分数为15%时,PLA-MPEG共混物分割在不可逆曲线的重结晶焓逐渐升高(最高约28J/g),熔融焓逐渐降低(最低约为3.3J/g);分割在可逆曲线的熔融峰逐渐由多重峰变为单峰,且焓变值逐渐升高(最高约66.1J/g),相应的可逆曲线熔融分割比例达到了95.2%。通过提高升温速率和延长调制周期,可使大部分熔融分割在可逆曲线上,但过快的升温速率和过长的调制周期会导致PLA相转变时的周期数过少,DSC调制功能的分辨率下降,设置测试条件时需综合考虑。     

Multiple melting behavior of poly(lactic acid) filled with modified carbon black

Two melting peaks are generally observed in a heating scan for isothermally crystallized poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/carbon black (CB) and PLA/modified carbon black (MCB) composites. To investigate the origin of the above double melting behavior, the melting behavior after isothermal crystallization was analyzed with differential scanning calorimetry, wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction, and small angel X‐ray scattering techniques. The double melting of the crystallized samples can be explained by the model of two populations of lamellae, the double peaks of low and high temperatures are contributed to the melting of the small lamellae produced by secondary crystallization and that of the major crystals formed in the primary crystallization process, respectively. Spherulitic growth rates of the neat PLA and PLA/MCB composite were analyzed and the occurrence of a regime transition was demonstrated. For the PLA, a clear regime transition was observed at around 125 °C. For the PLA/MCB, it occurred at 130 °C. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 1971–1980, 2009     

Characterizing biodegradation of PLA and PLA-g-AA/starch films using a phosphate-solubilizing bacillus species

The use of PLA and PLA-g-AA/starch as materials for the controlled release of encapsulated PSB was evaluated. The results showed that the bacterium degraded both the PLA and the PLA-g-AA/starch composite films, resulting in cell release. Severe disruption of the film structure occurred after incubation for 60-90 d. The PLA-g-AA/starch (20 wt.-%) films were more biodegradable than those made of PLA and also suffered a more pronounced decrease in molecular weight and intrinsic viscosity. Although blending of starch appeared to enhance the biodegradability of the PLA films, the pattern of degradation was quite similar for both types of films. The rate of cell release depends on the biodegradability of the film.