Phosphoester cross-linked vegetable oil to construct a biodegradable and biocompatible elastomer

Abstract

Biodegradable and biocompatible elastomer polymers have significant potential in biotechnology and bioengineering. In this paper, we designed, synthesized, and characterized a series of biodegradable and biocompatible elastomers based on phosphoester cross-linked vegetable oils (PVOs), which were prepared by simple cross-linking reactions between phosphorylated castor oil (PCO) and epoxidized vegetable oils (EVOs), epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) and epoxidized linseed oil (ELO), without any solvent or initiator, at 37 °C. The ratios between PCO and the EVOs, and the functionality of the EVOs, play a role in the properties of the elastomer polymers, such as their mechanical properties and degradation. Moreover, the elastomer polymers can be degraded completely on account of the fracture of the phosphoester and triglyceride. The elastic evaluation tests show that PVOs meet the demand for elastomers that can deform and return to their original dimensions even after 1000 repeats of the cyclic compression test. Cytotoxicity studies in vitro indicate that the elastomer polymers and their corresponding degradation products are compatible with the L929 cell line. And the implantation test for the elastomer polymers in animal skin shows that this kind of elastomer can be absorbed completely within 3 months, accompanying the restoration of the implantation sites to their normal architecture.