CLAY CATALYZED SYNTHESIS OF BIO-DEGRADABLE POLY(GLYCOLIC ACID)

Glycolic acid was polymerized under vacuum in the presence and absence of nano sized clay.The added clay catalyzed the condensation polymerization which can be confirmed by recording FTIR spectroscopy and intrinsic viscosity (Ⅳ)values.The relative intensity of C=O/CH is increased while increasing the amount of clay.DSC showed the appearance of multiple endotherms of poly(glycolic acid).TGA showed the percentage weight residue remain above 750℃for polymer-nano composite system was 21% and hence proved the fl...

Effect of Chitosan Coating on the Properties of Poly(glycolic acid-lactic acid)Thread-Embedding Material

Poly( glycolic acid-lactic acid)( PGLA) threadembedding material was modified by chitosan coating which could improve the rigidity,hydrophilicity and moisture absorption of the material,and produced better stimulation effect. Thus,this kind of thread-embedding materials which can be buried into acupuncture points to produce a long-time stimulation is popular in the acupuncture and moxibustion therapies. The variation tendencies of diameter,weight, hydrophilicity, and flexibility of the samples under the change of chitosan coating concentration,coating time and coating times were studied respectively. The results showed that the hydrophilicity,weight,and rigidity after coating rose in a certain range with the increase of coating time,coating times and coating concentration. The coating time had little influence on the diameter of fiber.

Synthesis and Hydrophilic Performance of Poly(Lactic Acid)-Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Block Copolymers

Lactide was synthesized using lactic acid and stannous octoate as raw material and catalyst, respectively. Poly(lactic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PLA-PEG) was prepared by lactide and poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) via ring-opening polymerization. The most appropriate technological conditions of synthesis of lactide were researched in the paper. The copolymers were measured by Infrared spectroscopy (IR) and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR). The results proved that the lactide and PLA-PEG were synthesized successfully. Hydrophilic performance of the copolymer was measured by a water contact angle tester after prepared into a flat membrane. The water contact angle changed from 81.5? to 71.6?, which proved that the hydrophily of PLA-PEG was better than PLA.

Biodegradable Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)/Poly(glycolic acid) Films: Effect of Poly(glycolic acid) Crystal on Mechanical and Barrier Properties

Binary biodegradable polymers films, poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)(PBAT) and poly(glycolic acid)(PGA), were prepared through batch melt mixing to obtain Film Ⅰ and Film Ⅱ under two different processing conditions. PGA crystals played a major role in enhancing the mechanical and barrier properties of the films. For Film Ⅰ, there were initial PGA crystals before the film blowing process, the PGA molecular chain further crystallized, forming the oriented crystallization of PGA. Moreover, the Xcand crystalline size in Film Ⅰ were higher than those in Film Ⅱ. Compared with the different processing methods, Film Ⅰ has excellent mechanical and oxygen barrier properties due to the crystallization and orientation. The tensile strength reached 45.0 MPa, and tear strength exceeded 138.2 kN/m, while the elongation at break was as high as 750% for PBAT/PGA 85/15 in Film Ⅰ. The WVTR, WVP coefficients, and OP coefficients of PBAT/PGA films were decreased obviously with increasing the PGA content both in Film Ⅰ and Film Ⅱ. Moreover, the barrier properties of oxygen in Film Ⅰ were better than that in Film Ⅱ. This work reveals a feasible processing technique by introducing of initial crystallization of PGA to blow PBAT/PGA films with excellent mechanical and barrier properties.

Improvement on the Mechanical Performance and Resistance Towards Hydrolysis of Poly(glycolic acid)via Solid-state Drawing

Poly(glycolic acid)is a biocompatible as well as biocomposable polymer with superior mechanical and barrier properties and,consequently,has found important applications in both medical and packaging fields.However,the high hydrolysis rate in a high humidity environment restricts its application.In this work,a solid-state drawing process after melt extrusion is applied in order to produce fibrous PGA with enhanced mechanical properties and a much better resistance towards hydrolysis.The crystal structure of PGA gradually transformed from spherulites into oriented fibrous crystals in the stretching direction upon solid-state drawing.Meanwhile,both the length of microfibril and the size of lamellae increased initially with the drawing ratio(DR),while the chain-folded lamellae transformed into extended-chain fibrils at high(er)DR.The oriented structures lead to an overall improvement of the mechanical properties of PGA,e.g.,the tensile strength increased from 62.0±1.4 MPa to 910±54 MPa and the elongation at break increased from around 7%to 50%.Meanwhile,the heat capacity of totally mobile amorphous PGA(∆C_(p)^(0)=0.64 J·g^(−1)·℃^(−1))was reported for the first time,which was used to analyze the content of mobile amorphous fraction(XMAF)and rigid amorphous fraction(XRAF).Both the oriented chain-folded lamellae crystals and the tightly arranged RAF are beneficial to prevent water molecules from penetrating the matrix,thus improving the resistance towards hydrolysis.As a consequence,the fibrous PGA with a DR of 5 showed a tensile strength retention rate of 17.3%higher in comparison with the undrawn sample after 7-days accelerated hydrolysis.Therefore,this work provides a feasible method to improve the mechanical and resistance towards hydrolysis performance of PGA,which may broaden its application and prolong the shelf-life of PGA products.

Robust Poly(glycolic acid) Films with Crystal Orientation and Reinforcement of Chain Entanglement Network

The inherent brittleness of biodegradable poly(glycolic acid) (PGA) restricts its utilization in the packaging field. Traditional toughening methods usually require additional components accompanied by a sacrifice of strength. In the present work, PGA films with simultaneously enhanced strength and ductility are achieved via “casting-stretching-annealing” technology. The reinforced chain entanglement network of PGA induced by the intense extensional stress and the highly oriented crystals grown and refined during the stretching and annealing process endowed the improved ductility and strength of the PGA films, respectively. The relationships among the stretching process, microstructure and mechanical properties of the PGA films have been systematically investigated. As a result, the PGA film (SA-2) with low stretch ratios exhibits excellent ductility with an increase in elongation at break from 22% to 220% and tensile strength from 56 MPa to 130 MPa. Meanwhile, the PGA film (SA-4) with large stretch ratios features much higher tensile strength (335 MPa) while maintaining good ductility (elongation at break of 66%). In addition, highly oriented crystals result in obvious enhancement of heat resistance and dimensional stability of the PGA films. Therefore, this work provides an effective route to fabricate PGA films with both high strength and ductility which may promote the application of PGA materials.

Generation of Tough Poly(glycolic acid)(PGA)/Poly(butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate)(PBSA)Films with High Gas Barrier Performance through In situ Nanofibrillation of PBSA under an Elongational Flow Field

Poly(glycolic acid)(PGA)is derived from glycolide obtained by fermenting pineapples or sugarcane,which has excellent gas barrier properties and a small carbon footprint.PGA is a potential substitute for the current aluminum-plastic composite films used in high barrier packaging applications.However,its poor ductility and narrow processing window limit its application in food packaging.Herein,poly(butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate)(PBSA)was used to fabricate PGA/PBSA blend films through an in situ fibrillation technique and blown film extrusion.Under the elongational flow field used during the extrusion process,a unique hierarchical structure based on the PBSA nanofibrils and interfacially oriented PGA crystals was obtained.This structure enhances the strength,ductility and gas barrier properties of the PGA/PBSA blend film.In addition,an epoxy chain extender(ADR4468)was used as a compatibilizer to further enhance the interfacial adhesion between PGA and PBSA.70PGA/0.7ADR exhibited a very low oxygen permeability(2.34×10^(-4)Barrer)with significantly high elongating at break(604.4%),tensile strength(47.4 MPa),and transparency,which were superior to those of petroleum-based polymers.Thus,the 70PGA/0.7ADR blown films could satisfy the requirements for most instant foods such as coffee,peanuts,and fresh meat.

Tailoring the Crystallization Behavior and Mechanical Property of Poly(glycolic acid) by Self-nucleation

Biocompostable poly(glycolic acid)(PGA)crystallizes slowly under fast cooling condition,leading to poor mechanical performance of the final products.In this work,a self-nucleation(SN)route was carried out to promote the crystallization of PGA by regulating only the thermal procedure without any extra nucleating agents.When self-nucleation temperature(Ts)decreased from 250℃ to 227℃,the nuclei density was increased,and the non-isothermal crystallization temperature(Tc)of PGA was increased from 156℃ to 197℃ and the half-life time(t0.5)of isothermal crystallization at 207℃ was decreased by 89%.Consequently,the tensile strength and the elongation at break of the PGA were increased by 12%and 189%,respectively.According to the change of Tc as a function of Ts,a three-stage temperature domain map(Domain I,II and III)was protracted and the viscoelastic behavior of the self-nucleation melt and the homogeneous melt was studied.The results indicated that interaction among PGA chains was remained in Domain IIb,which can act as pre-ordered structure to accelerate the overall crystallization rate.This work utilizes a simple and effective SN method to regulate the crystallization behavior and the mechanical properties of PGA,which may broaden the application range of resulting materials.

The biological fate of the polymer nanocarrier material monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(D,L-lactic acid)in rat

Monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(D,L-lactic acid)(PEG-PLA)is a typical amphiphilic di-block copolymer widely used as a nanoparticle carrier(nanocarrier)in drug delivery.Understanding the in vivo fate of PEG-PLA is required to evaluate its overall safety and promote the development of PEG-PLA-based nanocarrier drug delivery systems.However,acquiring such understanding is limited by the lack of a suitable analytical method for the bioassay of PEG-PLA.In this study,the pharmacokinetics,biodistribution,metabolism and excretion of PEG-PLA were investigated in rat after intravenous administration.The results show that unchanged PEG-PLA is mainly distributed to spleen,liver,and kidney before being eliminated in urine over 48 h mainly(>80%)in the form of its PEG metabolite.Our study provides a clear and comprehensive picture of the in vivo fate of PEG-PLA which we anticipate will facilitate the scientifc design and safety evaluation of PEG-PLA-based nanocarrier drug delivery systems and thereby enhance their clinical development.

A novel bioactive nerve conduit for the repair of peripheral nerve injury

The use of a nerve conduit provides an opportunity to regulate cytokines, growth factors and neurotrophins in peripheral nerve regeneration and avoid autograft defects. We constructed a poly-D-L-lactide（PDLLA）-based nerve conduit that was modified using poly{（lactic acid）-co-[（glycolic acid）-alt-（L-lysine）]} and β-tricalcium phosphate. The effectiveness of this bioactive PDLLA-based nerve conduit was compared to that of PDLLA-only conduit in the nerve regeneration following a 10-mm sciatic nerve injury in rats. We observed the nerve morphology in the early period of regeneration, 35 days post injury, using hematoxylin-eosin and methylene blue staining. Compared with the PDLLA conduit, the nerve fibers in the PDLLA-based bioactive nerve conduit were thicker and more regular in size. Muscle fibers in the soleus muscle had greater diameters in the PDLLA bioactive group than in the PDLLA only group. The PDLLA-based bioactive nerve conduit is a promising strategy for repair after sciatic nerve injury.