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Studies on Poly[acrylamide‐ co ‐( ε ‐caprolactone)]: Synthesis, Characterization and Biodegradability
Author(s) -
Kawasaki Norioki,
Nakayama Atsuyoshi,
Higashi Takashi,
Maeda Yasukatsu,
Yamamoto Noboru,
Aiba Seiichi
Publication year - 2001
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 - 10.1002/1521-3935(20010701)202:11<2231::aid-macp2231>3.0.co;2-j
Subject(s) - hydrolysis , biodegradation , chemistry , polymer chemistry , polyamide , amide , acrylamide , enzymatic hydrolysis , caprolactone , organic chemistry , copolymer , polymer
The synthesis, characterization, hydrolysis and biodegradation of a copoly(ester amide), poly[acrylamide‐ co ‐( ε ‐caprolactone)], are described. The hydrogen transfer copolymerization of acrylamide (AA) with ε ‐caprolactone (CLN) in the presence of butyllithium or calcium hydride as initiators has been investigated. The calcium hydride was effective for the synthesis of the copoly(ester amide) in a wide range of polymer composition (AA/CLN = 10 : 90 to 90 : 10). The copoly(ester amide) was readily hydrolyzed in the presence of hydrochloric acid (0.1 n ) at 125°C in an autoclave (e. g. AA/CLN = 59 : 41, degradation 93%). Furthermore, the copoly(ester amide) was hydrolyzed enzymatically by lipase from Rhizopus arrhizus . The behavior of the enzymatic hydrolysis differed to the non‐enzymatic hydrolysis. The enzymatic hydrolyzability was remarkable in the range of the AA repeating unit ( β ‐alanine unit) from 10 to 40 mol‐% (e. g. AA/CLN = 27 : 73, degradation 44%), while, the degradability for the non‐enzymatic hydrolysis rose with increasing AA repeating unit content. The biodegradation of the copoly(ester amide) was evaluated using a standard activated sludge (e. g. AA/CLN = 27 : 73 biodegradation 45%). The relationship between the biodegradation and the polymer composition was similar for the standard activated sludge and the enzymatic hydrolysis.