Synthesis of Poly(L‐lactide) with One Terminal D‐Glucose Residue and Wettability of Its Film Surface

To develop the new‐type poly(L ‐lactide)‐based biomedical material having a wettable surface, the synthesis of poly(L ‐lactide) with one terminal D ‐glucose residue was investigated. After the hydroxyl group at 1‐C of α‐tetrabenzyl glucose, α‐Glc(Bzl)₄, was converted to the corresponding potassium alkoxide by using potassium tert‐butoxide, L ‐lactide (L ‐LA) was polymerized in the presence of α‐Glc(Bzl)₄‐OK as an initiator in tetrahydrofuran at room temperature to prepare α‐Glc(Bzl)₄‐polyLA. Subsequently, the removal of O‐protecting benzyl groups in the terminal α‐Glc(Bzl)₄ residue was carried out by hydrogenolysis with Pd/C to obtain the objective D ‐glucose‐end‐capped polyLA, α‐Glc‐polyLA. The wettability of surface of the α‐Glc‐polyLA material is discussed using the difference of the dynamic contact angle between a α‐Glc‐polyLA/homopolyLA blend film and a film of the polyLA homopolymer.