Thermo-Sensitive Gels: Biodegradable Hydrogels from Enantiomeric Copolymers of Poly(lactide) and Poly(ethylene glycol)

摘要

Biodegradable hydrogels have been developed by using block copolymers of poly(lactide) (PLA) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). Here, a novel thermo-sensitive formation of hydrogel is demonstrated by mixing micellar solutions of enantiomeric block copolymers of PLA and PEG in which the specific interaction of the enantiomeric PLA chains and that of the PEG chains connected with them are responsible for the hydrogel formation. This unique helix-induced gel is potentially useful for use as injectable drug carrier and implantable scaffold for tissue engineering.