An efficient approach to synthesize polysaccharides‐graft‐poly(p‐dioxanone) copolymers as potential drug carriers |
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| Authors: | Fang Lu Xiu‐Li Wang Si‐Chong Chen Ke‐Ke Yang Yu‐Zhong Wang |
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| Affiliation: | Center for Degradable and Flame‐Retardant Polymeric Materials (ERCEPM‐MoE), College of Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China |
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| Abstract: | 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) (SAn‐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 SAn‐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 |
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| Keywords: | acetylated starch biodegradable copolymerization graft copolymers poly(p‐dioxanone) |
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