Synthesis, degradability, and cell affinity of poly (DL-lactide-co-RS-hydroxyethyl-beta-malolactonate).

Abstract

Poly(DL-lactide-co-RS-hydroxyethyl-beta-malolactonate) (PLMAH), a novel functionalized polylactide with hydroxyl arms, was synthesized by a two-step reaction. DL-lactide (DLLA) and RS-benzyloxyethyl-beta-malolactonate were first copolymerized by ring-opening polymerization with Sn(Oct)(2) as catalyst to generate poly(DL-lactide-co-RS-benzyloxyethyl-beta-malolactonate) (PLMAB); next the benzyl protective groups of PLMAB were removed by the hydrogenation reaction catalyzed by Pd/C to generate the final polymer PLMAH. The composition and structure of PLMAB and PLMAH were characterized by (1)H and (13)C NMR. In vitro degradation experiments of PLMAH copolymers showed that the more RS-hydroxyethyl-beta-malolactonate (MAHE) content in the copolymer film, the faster the degradation occurred. The results of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (ECV-304) cultivated on PDLLA and PLMAH films suggested that among all the films, the PLMAH film containing 9.4 mol % MAHE had the highest cell attachment efficiency.