| Abstract: | A biodegradable polyester resin was polymerized from N‐benzyloxycarbonyl‐L ‐glutamic acid and ethylene glycol. Rhizopus delemar lipase was used as a biocatalyst for the rupture of ester bonds during the hydrolysis studies. Depolymerization was observed to follow a Michaelis–Menten mechanism, with the maximum rate of monomer formation dP/dtmax = 1.12 × 10−8 mol/s and the rate constant Km × 2.03 × 10−4 mol. Subject to initial conditions described by the most probable distribution and Michaelis–Menten–type depolymerization rate expressions, population density distribution dynamics of the polymeric molecules that formed the resin were explicitly described using a deterministic approach. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 80: 514–520, 2001 |
