Caffeic acid terminally conjugated with polylactide showed high thermal stability and photoreactivity, and may be useful as a functional polylactide in the environmental and medical fields.

Triarylsulfonium hexafluorophosphate salts were shown to be effective catalysts for the ring-opening polymerisation of various cyclic monomers under UV irradiation. A dual basic/acidic catalytic system demonstrated the potential for UV-triggered formation of poly(δ-valerolactone)-b-poly(L-lactide)-b-poly(δ-valerolactone) in a 'one-pot' reaction.

The ability for synthetic polymers to degrade in a controlled manner was developed for environmental reasons in the late 1960s. Interest in utilizing biodegradable polymers for biomedical applications rapidly followed and research focused on designing novel materials has continued to grow. Biodegradable polymers can be tailored for controlled degradation through numerous functional groups inclu...

Cylindrical elastomers were prepared through the UV-initiated crosslinking of terminally acrylated, 8,000 Da star-poly(trimethylene carbonate-co-ε-caprolactone) and star-poly(trimethylene carbonate-co-D,L-lactide). These elastomers were implanted intramuscularly into the hind legs of male Wistar rats to determine the influence of the comonomer on the weight loss, tissue response, and change in ...

Biocompatible and long-circulating (maghemite/poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide))/chitosan (core/shell)/shell nanoparticles with promising theranostic applications (biomedical imaging hyperthermia) against cancer.

Miniemulsion homopolymerization reactions of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene (STY) using poly(L-lactide) as co-stabilizer were carried out in order to prepare poly(L-lactide)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PLLA/PMMA) and poly(L-lactide)/polystyrene (PLLA/PS) binary blend nanoparticles. The effect of PLLA concentration on methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene (STY) homopolymerization reactions...

We observe large-scale structures in hydrogels of poly(l-lactide)-poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(l-lactide) (PLLA-PEO-PLLA) ranging in size from a few hundred nanometers to several micrometers. These structures are apparent through both ultra-small angle scattering (USAS) techniques and confocal microscopy. The hydrogels showed power law scattering in the USAS regime, which is indicative of scatteri...

Biodegradable polymers can serve as barriers to prevent the post-operative intestinal adhesion. Herein, we synthesized a biodegradable triblock copolymer poly(ɛ-caprolactone-co-lactide)-b-poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(ɛ-caprolactone-co-lactide) (PCLA-PEG-PCLA). The concentrated polymeric aqueous solution was injectable, and a hydrogel could be rapidly formed due to percolation of a self-assemble...

BACKGROUND The use of biodegradable synthetic nerve conduits for the reconstruction of segmental nerve defects has been extensively reported in both animal and human studies, with a majority of studies evaluating sensory nerve recovery. However, few studies have compared these nerve conduits for functional motor recovery. The purpose of this study was to compare three commercially available, sy...

Electrospinning method was used to fabricate poly(L-lactide-co-D,L-lactide) (PLDLA) nanofiber non-woven membranes. The structure and morphology of the electrospun membranes were investigated by a scanning electron microscope (JEOL) after a gold coating. The diameter of the electrospun fiber was measured by Adobe Photoshop 5.0 software from the SEM pictures. SEM images showed that the fiber diam...