Evaluation of Enzymatic Degradation of Gel and Colloid Formed by Poly(trimethylene carbonate) Grafted Copolymer

抄録

  Amphiphilic graft copolymers were synthesized using N-hydroxyethyl acrylamide (HEAA) as the hydrophilic main chain and poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC) as the hydrophobic side chain. This amphiphilic poly(HEAA-graft-PTMC) (PHT) copolymers self-aggregated because of hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interaction. The PTMC side chain was incorporated into the hydroxyl group on HEAA via ring-opening polymerization of a trimethylene carbonate monomer using an organic catalyst at room temperature. Enzymatic degradation of PHT was performed using the polymer gel and colloid samples in the presence of lipase in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution (pH 7.1) at 37°C. The degradation behavior of this polymer colloid was observed by dynamic light scattering. The surface morphology of PHT was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. The PHT copolymer was slightly degraded by lipase in PBS, indicating its potential as a carrier of drug delivery systems.