Biodegradable Polymers Poly(amide-urethanes) (1)

摘要

Potential applications as sutures, surgical inplants, barriers for controlled release of drugs and agricultural chemicals have been behind some of the recent studies on biodegradable polymers. Biological systems generally degrade natural macromolecules by hydrolysis followed by oxidation. With this in mind one of our approaches to biodegradable polymers has been the design, synthesis, testing, and application of polymers containing hydrolyzable groups in the polymer main chains. Poly(amide-urethanes) with long repeating units were prepared from 2-amino-ethanol, alpha, omega-alkylene dicarboxylic acid chlorides, and 1.6-diisocyanatohexane. These partially crystalline polymers undergo slow hydrolysis when suspended in buffered water but were found to be more readily degraded by the enzyme subtilisin.