Electrospun poly(L-lactic acid-co-succinic acid-co-1,4-butane diol) fibrous membranes

초록

The major route to convert lactic acid to high-molecular-weight polymers is ring-opening polymerization of lactide. We offer alternative synthesis routes based on direct condensation copolymerization of L-lactic acid (LA) together with succinic acid (SA) and 1,4-butane diol (BD) to produce high-molecular-weight biodegradable copolymers of poly(L-lactic acid-co-succinic acid-co-1,4-butane diol) (PLASB) in bulk state using titanium(？W) butoxide as a catalyst. Weight average molecular weight of PLASB was 2.1x105, when the content of SA and BD was 0.5 mole/100 mole of L-lactic acid (LA). An electrospinning method was used to fabricate porous membranes from newly synthesized bioabsorbable PLASB dissolved in mixed solvents of methylene chloride and dimethyl formamide for biomedical applications. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed that the fiber diameter and the nanostructured morphology of electrospun membranes depended on processing parameters such as the solvent ratio and the polymer concentration. By adjusting both solvent mixture ratio and the polymer concentration, uniform nanofiber non-woven membranes could be fabricated.