Abstract
Poly (glycerol adipate) (PGA) can be produced from divinyl adipate and unprotected glycerol by an enzymatic route to generate a polymer with relatively low molar mass (12 kDa). PGA bears a pendant hydroxyl group which imparts a hydrophilic character to this water insoluble polymer. We have examined the effect of synthesis temperature on polymer characteristics through various techniques including FT-IR, 1H and 13C NMR, surface and thermal analysis, both to expand the data already present in the literature about this material and to understand better its properties for potential pharmaceutical applications. The use of a lipase (Novozym 435) as a catalyst suppresses cross-linking at the pendant glyceryl hydroxyl through steric hindrance at the active site, thus producing polymers with low degrees of branching (5–30%), and removes the need for any pre- or post-polymerization protection/deprotection reactions. Careful temperature control during synthesis can give polymers with reproducible molecular weights and reduced amounts of polymer branching compared to synthesis at higher temperatures. Due to the ability of the synthetic route to produce a range of structures, PGA generated by enzymatic routes may emerge as a useful biodegradable polymer platform to engineer solid dispersions or nanoparticles for healthcare applications.
Highlights
In recent years advances in polymer science have led to significant improvements in a plethora of fields, from electronics to healthcare, pharmacy and packaging [1,2]
poly(glycerol adipate) (PGA) homopolymer was soluble in a wide range of organic solvents, indicating that no significant chainechain crosslinking occurred in the polycondensation step
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) tips modified with NH2 terminal groups, with increased hydrophilicity, interacted very strongly with PGA synthesized at 70 C (Fig. 5e, f); when the sample was deposited on HOPG
Summary
In recent years advances in polymer science have led to significant improvements in a plethora of fields, from electronics to healthcare, pharmacy and packaging [1,2]. Functionalization has the potential to provide a wide range of polymer properties which could be developed for a variety of applications This new family of nanoparticles offers properties vital to lipophilic drug administration, such as the absence of any emulsifier or stabilizer and increased stability [28]. Both the unmodified PGA and acyl substituted PGA have been shown to have low toxicity on HL-60 and HepG2 cell lines [26], and the unmodified PGA was well tolerated in a chronic oral dosing study (No Observed Adverse Effect Level in rats determined at 1000 mg/kg/day, data not shown). Different techniques including FT-IR, 1H and 13C NMR, surface and thermal analysis have been carried out to achieve a better insight of the features and behavior of these materials thereby clarifying the potential of PGA in novel drug delivery applications
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