Study on the hydrolytic degradation of poly(α,β-malic acid) by direct polycondensation

The development of synthetic biodegradable polymers such as poly(a.-hydroxy acid) is vital in constructing medical devices, including scaffolds and sutures, and has attracted growing interest in biomedicine. We report the hydrolysis of alpha,beta-PMA as a biodegradable, bioabsorbable water-soluble polymer. alpha,beta-PMA hydrolysis was studied in phosphate buffer solutions of pH=5.5, 7.0, 7.4, and 8.0. After 10 days, most main chain ester units of alpha,beta-PMAs had decomposed. The physicochemical properties of alpha,beta-PMA established here are expected to facilitate the production of alpha,beta-PMA of different molecular weights, which may have potential usefulness in biomaterials. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.