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Tissue‐compatible multiblock copolymers for medical applications, controllable in degradation rate and mechanical properties
Author(s) -
Lendlein Andreas,
Neuenschwander Peter,
Suter Ulrich W.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
macromolecular chemistry and physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1521-3935
pISSN - 1022-1352
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1521-3935(19981201)199:12<2785::aid-macp2785>3.0.co;2-x
Subject(s) - copolymer , polymer , materials science , polymer chemistry , thermoplastic elastomer , amorphous solid , ethylene glycol , degradation (telecommunications) , elastomer , toughness , polyester , thermoplastic , chemical engineering , composite material , chemistry , organic chemistry , telecommunications , computer science , engineering
A class of degradable, phase‐segregated multiblock copolymers is presented. The new copoly(ester‐urethane)s, termed DegraPol TM /btgc, consist of crystallizable poly[(3‐ R ‐hydroxybutyrate)‐ co ‐(3‐R‐hydroxyvalerate)]‐segments and amorphous segments from ε‐caprolactone, diglycolide and ethylene glycol. As junction unit an aliphatic diisocyanate, TMDI, is applied. The copoly(ester‐urethane)s are thermoplastic elastomers ( T m = 120–136°C) and are processable without degradation. For medical applications, materials are needed in which the degradation rate and the mechanical properties are independently adjustable to the medical needs. The mechanical properties of DegraPol TM /btgc, e.g., elasticity and toughness, can be controlled by the weight fraction of crystallizable segment; the elastic moduli of DegraPol/btcg are adjustable between 50 MPa and 500 MPa and were only little influenced by the chemical structure and the composition of the soft segment. By insertion of ‘weak links’ in the form of easily hydrolyzable glycolyl‐glycolate ester bonds into the amorphous segments, we attempted to synthesize degradable polymers in which the hydrolytic degradation rate can be controlled by the amount and the sequence distribution of these bonds. We report on the synthesis and on the thermal and mechanical properties of such polymers.