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Degradation behaviors of monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)‐b‐poly( ε ‐caprolactone) nanoparticles in aqueous solution
Author(s) -
Shen Chunhua,
Guo Shengrong,
Lu Chengfei
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
polymers for advanced technologies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.61
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1099-1581
pISSN - 1042-7147
DOI - 10.1002/pat.975
Subject(s) - materials science , ethylene glycol , gel permeation chromatography , copolymer , polymer chemistry , nanoparticle , aqueous solution , dynamic light scattering , caprolactone , chemical engineering , precipitation polymerization , polymerization , polymer , organic chemistry , radical polymerization , chemistry , composite material , nanotechnology , engineering
Monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)‐b‐poly( ε ‐caprolactone)(MPEG‐b‐PCL) diblock copolymers were synthesized via a ring‐opening polymerization. The polymeric nanoparticles prepared by precipitation/solvent evaporation exhibit a core–shell structure, characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The hydrolytic degradation of those nanoparticles was studied by DLS, NMR, and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). It was found that the molecular weight of PCL block in a copolymer significantly affects the stability of nanoparticles in aqueous solution and nanoparticles with shorter PCL block length degraded faster. The degradation behaviors could be divided into two stages with slow degradation at the interface region via swelling effect and fast degradation at inner core via caves and channels formed by cleavage of ester bonds. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.