Premium
The effect of polymer composition on the gelation behavior of PLGA‐ g ‐PEG biodegradable thermoreversible gels
Author(s) -
Tarasevich B. J.,
Gutowska A.,
Li X. S.,
Jeong B.M.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1552-4965
pISSN - 1549-3296
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.a.32025
Subject(s) - materials science , glycolic acid , polylactic acid , ethylene glycol , copolymer , polymer , aqueous solution , polyethylene glycol , chemical engineering , biodegradable polymer , peg ratio , polymer chemistry , plga , lactic acid , organic chemistry , nanoparticle , chemistry , nanotechnology , composite material , genetics , finance , bacteria , engineering , economics , biology
Graft copolymers consisting of a poly( D , L ‐lactic acid‐ co ‐glycolic acid) backbone grafted with polyethylene glycol side chains were synthesized and formed thermoreversible gels in aqueous solutions that exhibited solution behavior at low temperature and sol‐to‐gel transitions at higher temperature. The composition of the polymer and relative amounts of polylactic acid, glycolic acid, and ethylene glycol were varied by controlling the precursor concentrations and reaction temperature. The gelation temperature could be systematically tailored from 15 to 34°C by increasing the concentration of polyethylene glycol in the graft copolymer. The gelation temperature also depended on the polymer molecular weight and concentration. This work has importance for the development of water soluble gels with tailored compositions and gelation temperatures for use in tissue engineering and as injectable depots for drug delivery. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2009