Optical Rotatory Power of Biodegradable Polylactic Acid Films

摘要

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a polymer material on which biodegradability research has been the most advanced. PLA is a chiral polymer in which molecules containing asymmetric carbon atoms have a helical structure. Two optical isomers of PLA exist, PLLA (poly(L-lactic acid)) and PDLA (poly(D-lactic acid)). In this study, using various physical processes, we fabricated various samples such as oriented PLLA film, PLLA fiber, rolled PLLA film and forged PLLA plate. We observed a large optical rotatory power p in the cylindrical plate fabricated using a forging process, p of forged PLLA plates is 7200°/mm which is approximately 300 times larger than that of oquartz.