Catalytic ring-opening polymerization of l-lactide by titanium biphenoxy-alkoxide initiators

Synthesis and characterization of salen-Ti(IV) complex and application in the controllable polymerization of D, L-lactide

Poly(lactic acid) has been extensively investigated in the biomedical field because of its good biocompatibility and biodegradability. As an important method of poly(lactic acid) synthesis, metal complex-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of lactide can achieve a controllable lactide polymerization through the selection of appropriate ligands and metals. In this study, a novel metal (LTi-O)2 complex was synthesized and structurally characterized. (LTi-O)2 showed a relatively high catalytic activity and controllability of Poly(D, L-lactide) (PDLLA) molecular weights (polydispersity index of 1.02-1.22) in the ROP of D,L-lactide. The kinetic equation of D,L-LA ROP catalyzed by (LTi-O)2 could be expressed as-d[M]/dt = k[M]2[(LTi-O)2]1, and the reaction activation energy was 95.67 kJ·mol-1. Physical/chemical properties and biocompatibility evaluation results showed that PDLLA obtained through the (LTi-O)2-catalyzed ROP of D,L- lactide exhibited a good degradation performance and excellent biocompatibility.

Enzyme-Mediated Ring-Opening Polymerization of Pentadecalactone to Obtain Biodegradable Polymer for Fabrication of Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

The optimization of enzyme-mediated polymerization of pentadecalactone (PDL) was performed to obtain macromolecular products suitable for generation of 3D cell supports (scaffolds) for bone tissue engineering. Such parameters as temperature, monomer/enzyme ratio, and monomer concentration were studied. The maximum molecular weight of synthesized polymers was about 90,000. Methods allowing the introduction of reactive double bonds into polypentadecalactone (polyPDL) structure were developed. The macroporous matrices were obtained by modification of thermoinduced phase separation method.

High-pressure reactivity of L,L-lactide

L,L-Lactide, a dimer of L-lactic acid, is the typical monomer used for the catalytic synthesis of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA). We studied its phase diagram and reactivity at high pressure and high temperature by means of a diamond anvil cell. FTIR and Raman spectroscopy were employed to probe the changes occurring in the sample. An increase of temperature at pressure higher than 0.1 GPa revealed a solid-solid phase transition before the melting. A reaction was observed immediately after the melting with the almost complete transformation of the starting reactant to an amorphous poly(lactic acid) (PLA). The increase of pressure was found to accelerate the process, suggesting the reaction rate to be limited in the diffusion step. A steeper acceleration, likely due to multiphoton absorption processes of the 647.1 nm laser light by PLA, was observed in the Raman experiments.

Ring-Opening Polymerisation ofrac-Lactide Using a Calix[4]arene-Based Titanium (IV) Complex

cone-25,27-Dipropyloxy-26,28-dioxo-calix[4]arene titanium (IV) dichloride(1)has been assessed in the ring-opening polymerisation ofrac-lactide (L,D-LA). The polymers formed (PLDA) turned out to display an isotactic stereoblock microstructure (determined by NMR) despite the fact that the catalyst hasC2vsymmetry. Two techniques were applied for initiating the polymerisation reaction, microwave irradiation, and conventional thermal treatment. The polymers obtained were all characterised by NMR, IR, HPLC-SEC, DSC, and MALDI-TOF analysis. The use of microwave irradiation, applied for the first time to calixarene-based catalysts in the presence of therac-lactide monomer, increased the polymerisation rate compared with that obtained by the other method. On the other hand, standard thermal treatment enabled a slightly better control than microwave irradiation over the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution of the polylactides formed.