Biodegradation of poly(L‐aspartic acid‐co‐valine) and its derivatives

Biodegradable poly(L ‐aspartic‐acid/valine) (PAV) was synthesized by thermal polycondensation. The molar ratios of aspartic acid/valine were 9 : 1, 8 : 2, 7 : 3, 6 : 4, and 5 : 5, respectively. The chemical structure of PAV was confirmed by ¹³C‐NMR, DSC, FTIR, X‐ray, and GPC measurements. The degradation of PAV was studied in PBS buffer solution (pH 7.4 and 8.2) and in aqueous solution with enzymatic hydrolysis in which papain and trypsine acted as catalyst. It showed that the biodegradation rate of PAV was increased when the content of valine in copolymer increased. 3‐Hydroproplamine was used in a succinimide ring‐open reaction to obtain hydrophilic products (PHPAV). Stability tests showed that humidity, light, and temperature had no remarkable effect on PHPAV, however, it could be degraded in base solution. Biocompatibility and hematological tests were investigated. No deaths were found in the mice treated with PHPAV solution up to a 7.5 g/kg dose. No differences in number of red cells and glutamic pyruvic and creatinuria transaminase activities were found between the experiment and the control groups. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 46–51, 2006     

Melt polycondensation of L‐lactic acid catalyzed by 1,3‐dialkylimidazolium ionic liquids

BACKGROUND: In syntheses of biodegradable and bioresorbable polymers, efficient metal‐free catalysts are very desirable as the resulting products may be more biocompatible. As an attempt to find new metal‐free catalysts, 1,3‐dialkylimidazolium salts, the most commonly used ionic liquids or organic melt salts, were used as single‐component catalysts in the melt polycondensation of L ‐lactic acid for the first time. The resulting poly(L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) was characterized using gel permeation chromatography, ¹³C NMR, DSC and polarimetry. RESULTS: It has been found that less bulky substituents on the imidazolium ring are conducive to catalytic activity. PLLA with molar mass of about 20 000 g mol^?1 was synthesized at high yield (over 70%) in the presence of various 1,3‐dialkylimidazolium salts. The product exhibits satisfactory color (white to slightly yellow), optical purity (89–95%) and crystallinity (40–55%). A possible catalytic mechanism is proposed. CONCLUSION: As compared with the well‐known binary catalyst system SnCl₂ · 2H₂O/toluene sulfonic acid, the catalysts used in this investigation are better in terms of increasing PLLA yield and preventing discoloration and comparable in terms of racemization. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Microwave‐irradiated ring‐opening polymerization of D,L‐lactide under atmosphere

Poly(D ,L ‐lactide) (PDLLA) was synthesized by microwave‐irradiated ring‐opening polymerization catalyzed by stannous octoate (Sn(Oct)₂) under atmosphere. The effects of heating medium, monomer purity, catalyst concentration, microwave irradiation time, and vacuum level were discussed. Under the appropriate conditions such as carborundum (SiC) as heating‐medium, 0.15% catalyst, lactide with purity above 99.9%, 450 W microwave power, 30 min irradiation time, and atmosphere, PDLLA with a viscosity–average molecular weight (M_η) over 2.0 × 10⁵ and a yield over 85% was obtained. The dismission of vacuum to ring‐opening polymerization of D ,L ‐lactide (DLLA) under microwave irradiation simplified the process greatly. The temperature under microwave irradiation and conventional heating was compared. The largely enhanced ring‐opening polymerization rate of DLLA under microwave irradiation was the coeffect of thermal effects and microwave effects. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 2244–2247, 2006     

Reactive blending of poly(L‐lactic acid) with poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl alcohol)

Poly(L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) was blended with poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl alcohol) (EVOH) in the presence of an esterification catalyst to induce reaction between the hydroxyl groups of EVOH and the terminal carboxylic group of PLLA. Nascent low‐molecular‐weight PLLA, obtained from a direct condensation polymerization of L ‐lactic acid in bulk state, was used for the blending. Domain size of the PLLA phase in the graft copolymer was much smaller than that corresponding to a PLLA/EVOH simple blend. The mechanical properties of the graft copolymer were far superior to those of the simple blend, and the graft copolymer exhibited excellent mechanical properties even though the biodegradable fraction substantially exceeded the percolation level. The grafted PLLA reduced the crystallization rate of the EVOH moiety. Melting peak temperature (T_m) of the PLLA phase was not observed until the content of PLLA in the graft reaction medium went over 60 wt %. The modified Sturm test results demonstrated that biodegradation of EVOH‐g‐PLLA took place more slowly than that of an EVOH/PLLA simple blend, indicating that the chemically bound PLLA moiety was less susceptible to microbial attack than PLLA in the simple blend. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 98: 886–890, 2005     

Synthesis and characterization of star‐shaped poly(ethylene glycol)‐block‐poly(L‐lactic acid) copolymers by melt polycondensation

Compared with linear diblock or triblock poly(ethylene glycol)‐block‐poly(L ‐lactic acid) copolymer (PEG‐b‐PLLA), star‐shaped PEG‐b‐PLLA (sPEG‐b‐PLLA) copolymers exhibit smaller hydrodynamic radius and lower viscosity and are expected to display peculiar morphologies, thermal properties, and degradation profiles. Compared with the synthesis routine of PEG‐b‐PLLA form lactide and PEG, the traditional synthesis routine from LA and PEG were suffered by the low reaction efficiency, low purity, lower molecular weight, and wide molecular weight distribution. In this article, multiarm sPEG‐b‐PLLA copolymer was prepared from multiarm sPEG and L ‐lactic acid (LLA using an improved method of melt polycondensation, in which two types of sPEG, that is, sPEG₁ (four arm, Mn = 4300) and sPEG₂ (three arm, Mn = 3200) were chosen as the core. It was found the molecular weight of sPEG‐b‐PLLA could be strongly affected by the purity of LLA and sPEGs, and the purification technology of vacuum dewater and vacuum distillation could help to remove most of the impurities in commercial available LLA. The polymers, including sPEG and sPEG‐b‐PLLA with varied core (sPEG₁ and sPEG₂) and LLA/sPEG feeding ratios, were characterized and confirmed by ¹H‐NMR and ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR) and gel permeation chromatography, which showed that the terminal hydroxyl group in each arm of sPEGs had reacted with LLA to form sPEG‐b‐PLLA copolymers with fairly narrow molecular weight distribution. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Synthesis of poly(D,L‐lactic acid) modified by cholic acid via direct melt copolycondensation and its characterization

From D,L ‐lactic acid and the natural functional molecule cholic acid (CA), the biodegradable material poly(D,L ‐lactide–cholate) was synthesized via direct copolycondensation. For the CA/lactic acid (LA) molar feed ratio of 1/64, the optimal synthesis conditions were as follows: a prepolymerization time of 8 h, 0.3 wt % SnO catalyst, and melt copolycondensation for 8 h at 160°C, which gave a novel star‐shaped poly(D,L ‐lactic acid) (PDLLA) modified by CA with the maximum weight‐average molecular weight of 5600 Da at a yield of 51.9%. The copolymer poly(D,L ‐lactide–cholate) at different molar feed ratios was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance, gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry, and X‐ray diffraction. Decreasing the molar feed ratio of CA/LA from 1/15 to 1/128 reduced the average number of CA units embedded in the copolymer from 4 to 1. With 1/15 CA/LA, the copolymer was not a star‐shaped polymer, and its weight‐average molecular weight was the biggest (weight‐average molecular weight = 12,700 Da, weight‐average molecular weight/number‐average molecular weight = 1.68). With 1/32 CA/LA, the copolymer with two CA units was not a star‐shaped polymer either. With 1/64, 1/100, and 1/128 CA/LA, the copolymer mainly had one CA unit core embedded as a normal star‐shaped PDLLA with four arms, and certain crystallinity could be detected. The novel direct copolycondensation method was simple and practical for the synthesis of the asymmetrical star‐shaped PDLLA material, and it was advantageous for this PDLLA material embedded in the special bioactive molecule CA to be applied in the field of drug delivery and tissue engineering. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Water‐assisted formation of honeycomb films of poly(L‐lactic‐co‐glycolic acid)

The ordered honeycomb structures of poly(L ‐lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) and poly(D ,L ‐lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) fabricated in a humid atmosphere were reported in this paper. It was found that surfactants were important in the formation of honeycomb films of hydrophobic polymer. The affecting factors, such as the environment temperature, the atmosphere humidity, and the concentration of the polymer solution of the honeycomb porous structure, were also tested. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 1013–1018, 2006     

Ring‐opening copolymerization of L‐lactide with ε‐caprolactone initiated by diphenylzinc

Copolymerization of mixtures of L ‐lactide and ε‐caprolactone has been initiated by diphenylzinc. The reaction conditions were investigated, to discover the effects on yield, molecular weight and microstructure of copolymers obtained. The temperature used varied between 50 and 120 °C, the molar ratio of monomer to initiator ranged between 90 and 1440 mol/mol, and the molar ratio of ε‐caprolactone to L ‐lactide employed was between 100/0 and 0/100 mol/mol. Copolymers were characterized by ¹H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR, DSC and gel permeation chromatography. The results indicate that incorporation of L ‐lactide to the growing chain is preferred and ε‐caprolactone is copolymerized after most of the L ‐lactide has been depleted. The microstructure of obtained copolyesters was affected considerably by transesterification reactions. It was observed that increasing reaction temperature, reaction time and concentration initiator was advantageous to the transesterification. The crystallinity of copolyester obtained was determined by differential scanning calorimetry. The results are in good agreement with both molar composition and sequence distribution of copolyesters. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis,physical properties,and crystallization of optically active poly(L‐phenyllactic acid) and poly(L‐phenyllactic acid‐co‐L‐lactic acid)

Optically active poly(L ‐phenyllactic acid) (Ph‐PLLA), poly(L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA), and poly(L ‐phenyllactic acid‐co‐L ‐lactic acid) with weight‐average molecular weight exceeding 6 × 10³ g mol^?1 were successfully synthesized by acid catalyzed direct polycondensation of L ‐phenyllactic acid and/or L ‐lactic acid in the presence of 2.5–10 wt % of p‐toluenesulfonic acid. Their physical properties and crystallization behavior were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry, and polarimetry. The absolute value of specific optical rotation ([α]) for Ph‐PLLA (?38 deg dm^?1 g^?1 cm³) was much lower than that of [α] for PLLA (?150 deg dm^?1 g^?1 cm³), suggesting that the helical nature was reduced by incorporation of bulky phenyl group. PLLA was crystallizable during solvent evaporation, heating from room temperature, and cooling from the melt. Incorporation of a very low content of bulky phenyllactyl units even at 4 mol % suppressed the crystallization of L ‐lactyl unit sequences during heating and cooling, though the copolymers were crystallizable for L ‐phenylactyl units up to 6 mol % during solvent evaporation. The activation energy of thermal degradation (ΔE_td) for Ph‐PLLA (200 kJ mol^?1) was higher than that for PLLA (158 kJ mol^?1). The ΔE_td for the copolymers increased with an increase in L ‐phenyllactyl unit content. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Preparation of high‐molecular‐weight poly(L‐lactic acid)‐based polymers through direct condensation polymerization in bulk state

Poly(L ‐lactic acid‐co‐succinic acid‐co‐1,4‐butanediol) (PLASB) was synthesized by a direct condensation copolymerization of L ‐lactic acid, succinic acid (SA), and 1,4‐butanediol (BD) in bulk state using titanium(IV) butoxide (TNBT) as a catalyst. Weight average molecular weight (M_w) of PLASB increased from 3.5 × 10⁴ to 2.1 × 10⁵ as the content of SA and BD went up from 0.01 to 0.5 mol/100 mol of L ‐lactic acid (LA). PLASB having M_w in the range from 1.8 × 10⁵ to 2.1 × 10⁵ showed tensile properties comparable to those of commercially available poly(L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA). In sharp contrast, homopolymerization of LA in bulk state produced PLLA with M_w as low as 4.1 × 10⁴, and it was too brittle to prepare specimens for the tensile tests. M_w of PLASB synthesized by using titanium(IV)‐2‐ethyl(hexoxide), indium acetate, indium hydroxide, antimony acetate, antimony trioxide, dibutyl tin oxide, and stannous‐2‐ethyl 1‐hexanoate was compared with that of PLASB obtained by TNBT. Ethylene glycol oligomers with different chain length were added to LA/SA in place of BD to investigate effect of chain length of ethylene glycol oligomers on the M_w of the resulting copolymers. Biodegradability of PLASB was analyzed by using the modified Sturm test. Toxicity of PLASB was evaluated by counting viable cell number of mouse fibroblast cells that had been in contact with PLASB discs. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 466–472, 2006     

Synthesis and thermal properties of poly(methyl methacrylate)‐poly(L‐lactic acid)‐poly(methyl methacrylate) tri‐block copolymer

Poly(methyl methacrylate)‐poly(L ‐lactic acid)‐poly(methyl methacrylate) tri‐block copolymer was prepared using atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The structure and properties of the copolymer were analyzed using infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR), thermogravimetry, and differential scanning calorimetry. The kinetic plot for the ATRP of methyl methacrylate using poly(L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) as the initiator shows that the reaction time increases linearly with ln[M]₀/[M]. The results indicate that it is possible to achieve grafted chains with well‐defined molecular weights, and block copolymers with narrowed molecular weight distributions. The thermal stability of PLLA is improved by copolymerization. A new wash‐extraction method for removing copper from the ATRP has also exhibits satisfactory results. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Synthesis and characterization of ABA type tri‐block copolymers derived from p‐dioxanone,L‐lactide and poly(ethylene glycol)

A series of triblock co‐polymers, consisting of a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) central block joined to two blocks of random p‐dioxanone‐co‐L ‐lactide copolymers were synthesized by ring‐opening polymerization of p‐dioxanone (PDO) and L ‐lactide (LLA) initiated by PEG in the presence of stannous 2‐ethylhexanoate catalyst. The resulting copolymers were characterized by various techniques including ¹H and ¹³C NMR and FTIR spectroscopies, gel permeation chromatography, inherent viscosity, wide‐angle X‐ray diffractometry (WAXD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The conversion of PDO and L ‐lactide into the polymer was studied various mole ratios and at different polymerization temperature from ¹H NMR spectra. Results of WAXD and DSC showed that the crystallinity of PEG macroinitiator was greatly influenced by the composition of PDO and L ‐lactide in the copolymer. The triblock copolymers with low molecular weight were soluble in water at below room temperature. © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

微波溶剂法合成天冬氨酸-谷氨酸共聚物研究

Polyaspartic acid（PASP）is suitable for the inhibition of scale deposition from water.To enhance its inhibition efficiency,PASP was modified by reacting aspartic acid（Asp）with glutamic acid（Glu）to provide Asp-Glu copolymer under microwave irradiation.The influence of reaction parameters on conversion,molecular weight and inhibition of CaCO3 precipitation was investigated Infra-red.（IR）, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance（ 1H NMR）and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance（ 13C NMR）spectroscopies were used to characterize the copolymer.The results show that copolymerization of aspartic acid and glutamic acid is catalyzed by a small amount of phosphorous acid （H3PO4）in solvent,the product conversion is 98.05%under the following conditions：the molar ratio of glutamic acid to reactant[Glu/（Asp＋Glu）]is 0.3 and that of catalyst（Cat）to reactant[Cat/（Glu＋Asp）]is 0.05（0.65ml H3PO4）,the volume of solvent dimethylformamide is 16ml,the microwave power used is 720W and the reaction for 3 min.The weight average molecular weight of copolymer synthesized under these conditions is 2709 and the inhibition rate for CaCO3 is 97.75%.     

Characterization of poly(L‐lactic acid) fibers produced by melt spinning

Biodegradable poly(L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) fibers were processed by a two‐step melt‐spinning method (melt extrusion and hot draw) from PLLA with three different viscosity‐average molecular weights (494,600, 304,700, and 262,800). Before spinning, the polymer flakes were first milled into powders and dried under vacuum. Viscosity‐average molecular weight of PLLA following the fabrication process was monitored. Tensile properties of as‐spun and hot‐drawn fibers were investigated. Morphology of the PLLA fibers was viewed under a scanning electron microscope. Crystallinity of these fibers was assessed by thermogram analysis of differential scanning calorimetry. Results showed that the extent of decrease in the viscosity‐average molecular weight of PLLA dropped sharply by 13.1–19.5% during pulverization and by 39.0–69.0% during melt‐extrusion. The hot‐draw process in this study had a little effect on the viscosity‐average molecular weight of PLLA. Smoother fibers could be obtained for the die temperature at least 230°C for raw materials with higher crystallinity (more than 75%) and at least 220°C for raw materials with lower crystallinity (about 60%). The as‐spun fibers showed crystallinity of 16.5–22.8% and the value increased to 50.3–63.7% after hot draw. Tensile moduli of the as‐spun fibers were in the range of 1.2–2.4 GPa, which were raised to 3.6–5.4 GPa after hot draw. The final PLLA fibers with 110–160 μm diameters showed tensile strengths of 300–600 MPa. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 81: 251–260, 2001     

Synthesis and characterization of the biomaterial poly(lactic acid‐co‐Nε‐carbobenzoyloxy‐L‐lysine) via direct melt copolymerization

With D,L ‐lactic acid and N^ϵ‐carbobenzoyloxy‐L ‐lysine [Lys(Z)] as the starting monomer material and tin dichloride as the catalyst, the drug carrier material poly(lactic acid‐co‐N^ϵ‐carbobenzoyloxy‐L ‐lysine) was synthesized via direct melt polycondensation. The copolymer was systematically characterized with intrinsic viscosity testing, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ¹H‐NMR, gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, and X‐ray diffraction. The influences of different feed molar ratios were examined. With increasing molar feed content of Lys(Z), the intrinsic viscosity, weight‐average molecular weight, and polydispersity index (weight‐average molecular weight/number‐average molecular weight) gradually decreased. Because of the introduction of Lys(Z) with a big aromatic ring into the copolymer, the glass‐transition temperature gradually increased with increasing feed charge of Lys(Z), and all of the copolymers were amorphous. The copolymers, with weight‐average molecular weights from 10,500 to 6900 Da, were obtained and could reach the molecular weight level of poly(lactic acid) modified by Lys(Z) via the ring‐opening polymerization of the cyclic intermediates, such as lactide and morpholine‐2,5‐dione. However, a few terminal carboxyl groups might have been deprotected during the polymerization reaction under high temperatures. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Direct synthesis of poly(D,L‐lactic acid) by melt polycondensation and its application in drug delivery

Starting from D,L ‐acid and SnCl₂ as catalyst, poly(D,L ‐lactic acid) (PDLLA) was directly synthesized by melt polycondensation. Under the appropriate conditions such as 0.5 wt % SnCl₂, 170–180°C, 70 Pa, and 10 h, the viscosity‐average molecular weight (M_η) of PDLLA was 4100 Da. PDLLA produced by the most practical method was used as the drug‐delivery material for erythromycin and ciprofloxacin. The optimal conditions for the preparation of erythromycin–poly(D,L ‐lactic acid)–microsphere (ERY–PDLLA–MS) for lung targeting was investigated, and further confirmed by good reappearance tests. DSC and SEM demonstrated that ERY–PDLLA–MS had good spherical shape. The release in vitro of ERY–PDLLA–MS was effective and the half‐time (T_1/2) was 51.0 h. After 175 h, the accumulated release percentage was 80.0%. The test in vivo showed that ERY–PDLLA–MS was more easily distributed in rabbit lung tissue. When PDLLA was applied in an antibacterial ciprofloxacin drug‐delivery microsphere (CIP–PDLLA–MS), CIP–PDLLA–MS was also characterized with DSC and SEM, and the release T_1/2 in vitro was 24.9 h. After 53.2 h, the accumulated release percentage reached 84.0%, which indicated that CIP–PDLLA–MS was advantageous to long‐term release. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 2143–2150, 2004     

Syntheses of poly(lactic acid‐co‐glycolic acid) serial biodegradable polymer materials via direct melt polycondensation and their characterization

The optimal synthetic conditions of poly(lactic acid‐co‐glycolic acid) (PLGA) via melt copolycondensation directly from L ‐lactic acid (L ‐LA) and glycolic acid (GA) with a feed molar ratio of 50/50 are discussed; the important drug‐delivery carrier PLGA50/50 is used as a special example. With reaction conditions of 165°C and 70 Pa and with 0.5 wt % SnCl₂ as the catalyst, 10 h of polymerization gave the L ‐PLGA50/50 with the biggest intrinsic viscosity ([η]), 0.1993 dL/g. The optimal synthetic conditions were verified by the synthesis of D,L ‐PLGA50/50 with D,L ‐lactic acid (D,L ‐LA) instead of L ‐LA, but the biggest [η] was 0.2382 dL/g. Under the same synthetic conditions with L ‐LA and D,L ‐LA as starting materials, serial PLGA with different molar feed ratios, including 100/0, 90/10, 70/30, 50/50, 30/70, 10/90, and 0/100, were synthesized via simple and practical direct melt copolycondensation, and their solubilities were investigated. When the glycolic acid feed molar percentage was equal to or more than 70%, solubilities in tetrahydrofuran and CHCl₃ became worse, and some samples were even wholly insoluble. These biodegradable polymers were also systematically characterized with gel permeation chromatography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X‐ray diffraction. PLGA synthesized from L ‐LA and D,L ‐LA had many differences in weight‐average molecular weight (M_w), glass‐transition temperature, crystallinity, and composition. When the molar feed ratio of LA to GA was 50/50, both the [η] and M_w values of D,L ‐PLGA were higher than those of L ‐PLGA. With D,L ‐LA as the starting material, the structure of the PLGA copolymer was relatively simple, and its properties were apt to be controlled by its GA chain segment. When the feed molar percentage of the monomer (LA or GA) was more than or equal to 90%, the copolymer was apt to be crystalline, and the aptness was more obvious for the L ‐LA monomer. The composition percentage of GA in PLGA was not only higher than the feed molar percentage of GA, but also, the GA percentage in D,L ‐PLGA was higher than in L ‐PLGA. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 244–252, 2006     

The ring‐opening polymerization of D,L‐lactide catalyzed by new complexes of Cu,Zn, Co,and Ni Schiff base derived from salicylidene and L‐aspartic acid

D ,L ‐lactide (LA) was first successfully ring‐opening polymerized in melt by Schiff base complexes K[ML]nH₂O [M = Cu(II), Zn(II), Co(II), Ni(II); n = 2, 2, 3, 3.5; H₃L = L‐aspartic acid‐salicylidene Schiff base], which were prepared by Schiff base ligand derived from salicylidene and L‐aspartic acid and corresponding acetates. The effects of various complexes, the molar ratio of K[ML]nH₂O/LA, the polymerization temperature, and time were studied in detail. The results show that all complexes studied have the ability to initiate the ring‐opening polymerization of D ,L ‐lactide in melt. More than 90% high polymerization conversion and narrow molecular weight distribution (MWD) can be obtained very easily. However, the Ni(II) complex shows better catalytic property than other complexes on the polymerization and the molecular weight (MW) of poly(D ,L ‐lactide) (PLA) produced. With a rise in temperature and a prolongation of time, the MW of PLA decreased remarkably. The MW of PLA prepared by all complexes is not very high, which might be related to the crystalline water of complexes. X‐ray study indicated that PLA produced by Ni(II) complex is an amorphous polymer. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 3312–3315, 2002     

Telechelic poly(L‐lactic acid) for dilactide production and prepolymer applications

The suitability of different types of telechelic poly(lactic acid) (PLA) copolymers for dilactide production and prepolymer products was evaluated. L ‐lactic acid (L ‐LA) was copolymerized with 1,4‐butanediol, pentaerythritol, adipic acid, or 1,2,3,4‐butanetetracarboxylic acid (1,2,3,4‐BTCA). The influence of branching, the choice of catalyst, and the type of terminal groups on the properties and the thermal stability of the end product was determined. Carboxyl‐termination of PLA was shown to lead to higher molar masses than hydroxyl‐termination. The observed differences in the molar masses were explained by the lower thermal stability of the hydroxyl‐terminated PLA, as evidenced by the faster depolymerization rate of the hydroxyl‐terminated polymers and their higher tendency to undergo racemization. Sn(Oct)₂ was found to be a more effective copolymerization catalyst than Fe(OAc)₂ in terms of the final molar masses obtained. It was additionally found that the amount of chains not attached to the comonomers decreased toward longer polymerization times and was typically higher for the hydroxyl‐terminated copolymers. The results suggest that predominant carboxyl‐termination would increase the thermal stability of PLA polymers, whereas hydroxyl‐termination could be utilized to increase the production speed and efficiency of dilactide. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Crystallization behavior of biodegradable amphiphilic poly(ethylene glycol)‐poly(L‐lactide) block copolymers

Poly(ethylene glycol)‐poly(L ‐lactide) diblock and triblock copolymers were prepared by ring‐opening polymerization of L ‐lactide with poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether or with poly(ethylene glycol) in the presence of stannous octoate. Molecular weight, thermal properties, and crystalline structure of block copolymers were analyzed by ¹H‐NMR, FTIR, GPC, DSC, and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD). The composition of the block copolymer was found to be comparable to those of the reactants. Each block of the PEG–PLLA copolymer was phase separated at room temperature, as determined by DSC and WAXD. For the asymmetric block copolymers, the crystallization of one block influenced much the crystalline structure of the other block that was chemically connected to it. Time‐resolved WAXD analyses also showed the crystallization of the PLLA block became retarded due to the presence of the PEG block. According to the biodegradability test using the activated sludge, PEG–PLLA block copolymer degraded much faster than PLLA homopolymers of the same molecular weight. © 1999 John Wiley amp; Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 72: 341–348, 1999