Fast degradable poly(L‐lactide‐co‐ε‐caprolactone) microspheres for tissue engineering: Synthesis, characterization, and degradation behavior

Abstract

Polymeric scaffolds play a crucial role in engineering process of new tissues and effect the cell growth and viability. PLCL copolymers are found to be very useful during cell growth due to their elastic behavior and mechanical strength. Thus, low molecular weight PLCL copolymers of various ratios viz. PLCL(90/10), PLCL(75/25), PLCL(50/50) and PCL were synthesized by ring opening polymerization using stannous octoate as a catalyst. Synthesized polymers were characterized by GPC, 1 H-NMR, FTIR and XRD. The thermal properties of the copolymers were studied using TGA and DSC. Microspheres of about 100 lm diameter were prepared for different copolymers and their in vitro degradation behaviors were studied up to 108 days. It was observed that degradation of PLA content in polymer backbone occurs faster than PCL component which is also indicated by corresponding change in ratios of PLA/PCL, as determined by 1 H-NMR. SEM images of microspheres depicted the surface morphology during degradation and suggested the faster degradation for PLCL (50:50). Copolymers of different thermal, mechanical properties and different degradation behaviors can be prepared by adjusting the composition of copolymers. Various synthesized polymers from this work have been tested in our laboratory as polymeric scaffold for soft tissue engineering.

Characterizing and optimizing poly- l -lactide-co-ε-caprolactone membranes for urothelial tissue engineering

“…This is catalysed by acidic conditions [17]. We chose this pH because it mimics the pH in the lumen of the native urethra and therefore it can be assumed that the degradation rate of these membranes most probably is similar to that in the urinary tract.…”

“…Although PCL is highly elastic and strain is more than 700 per cent at breakage [10], the degradation rate of PCL is rather slow for urothelial tissue engineering, taking up to 2 years [10,12]. Various poly-L-lactide-co-1-caprolactone (PLCL) compositions have been studied in tissue engineering applications [13][14][15][16][17][18], but the main focus has been on producing electrospun nanofibrous membranes. In our recent study [19], we showed that compression-moulded smooth PLCL membranes supported the proliferation and differentiation of hUCs better than human amniotic membrane.…”

Poly(α-hydroxy Acids)-Based Cell Microcarriers

“…Regarding the hydrolytic degradation behavior of poly(D,L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PDLCL) and PLCL copolymers, the situation is much more complex than in PDLGA or PLGA copolymers, and contradictory results can be found in the literature [40][41][42]. In the case of PDLGA or PLGA copolymers, the addition of glycolide (below the limit where glycolide can also form crystalline domains) accelerates the degradation behavior of PLAs due to the incorporation of hydrolytically less resistant units and a reduction in the crystallinity of PLLA polymers.…”

“…In PLCL copolymers, the incorporation of ε-caprolactone (below the limit where ε-caprolactone can also form crystalline domains) to PLAs lowers the crystallization capability of PLLA, but will, at the same time, provide more hydrolytically resistant units. Although these two effects are antagonistic, the results found in literature indicate that the reduction in crystallinity affects the degradation behavior to a larger extent [40,41,43]. For example, Garkhal et al [40] compared the degradation behavior of three PLCLs having 90:10 (90% L-lactide, 10% ε-caprolactone), 75:25 and 50:50 compositions.…”

“…Although these two effects are antagonistic, the results found in literature indicate that the reduction in crystallinity affects the degradation behavior to a larger extent [40,41,43]. For example, Garkhal et al [40] compared the degradation behavior of three PLCLs having 90:10 (90% L-lactide, 10% ε-caprolactone), 75:25 and 50:50 compositions. PLCL 50:50 displayed a completely amorphous character, whereas PLCL 75:25 and PLCL 90:10 had a melting enthalpy (∆H m ) of 22.3 and 39.1 J·g −1 , respectively, which correspond to the energy required to melt L-lactide crystals.…”