11 - Bio-based aliphatic polyesters from dicarboxylic acids and related sugar and amino acid derivatives

Abstract

Great efforts are nowadays focused to get valuable chemicals and polymers from renewable natural resources and to decrease the high dependence on petrochemicals. Bioproduction of various platform chemicals is a reality, and products such as ethanol, butanol, diols, succinic acid, glutaric acid, or sebacic acid can be easily attained. These are also the monomers involved in the preparation of poly(alkylene dicarboxylate)s, which constitute one of the main families of biodegradable polymers. Characteristics of polyesters and polycarbonates can also be modified by incorporation of other natural units such as amino acids and sugars-based monomers. In the first case, it is clear that additional amide groups are incorporated in the main chain, allowing the establishment of strong intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions that could modify both physical properties and biodegradation rates, as well as give an improved compatibility with tissues. In the same way, final characteristics can also be modified by the presence of rigid cyclic units in the main chain as it is the case of the sugar derivatives, which in addition can provide an ideal functionality through hydroxyl and amine groups for being used as drug delivery systems.