Conformational characteristics and configurational properties of poly(ethylene succinate) and poly(butylene succinate) and structure–property–function relationships of representative biodegradable polyesters

Abstract

Conformational characteristics and configurational properties of synthetic biodegradable polyesters, poly(ethylene succinate) and poly(butylene succinate), have been investigated by NMR experiments and molecular orbital calculations on their model compounds and the rotational isomeric state calculations for the two aliphatic polyesters. The results have been related to their crystal structures and thermal properties and compared with those obtained previously for poly((R)-3-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(lactic acid) to elucidate structure–property relationships of the representative biodegradable polyesters. In addition, selective affinities to degradative enzymes of the four polyesters have been satisfactorily explained in terms of their conformational characteristics and interactions with the depolymerases.