2008 Volume 20 Issue 2 Pages 62-66
Soaking test with physiological salt and bile solutions was carried out for polylactic acid (PLA), polycaprolacton (PCL), polyglycolic acid (PGA) and their copolymers. Biodegradability was evaluated by measuring mechanical properties and molecular weight of these polymers as a function of soaking time. In homopolymers, PGA degraded very quickly, but other two polymers kept the mechanical strength for more than 100 days. In the copolymer composed of lactic acid and glycolic acid, the degradation rate varied with mole ratio. Generally the degradation rate of copolymers was found to be rapid as compared with hompolymers. The polymers that are useful in the field of bio-science can be prepared from the copolymers of biodegradable components by changing the monomer ratio.
