Controlled degradation of bioresorbable polymers via external stimuli

Abstract

Weight loss measurements proved to be the most effective method of tracking the extent of degradation in PCL films. Differential Scanning Calorimetry and Raman Spectroscopy proved to be inefficient in tracking or characterizing hydrolysis reaction in PCL. There was no significant sign of peak splitting, new peak formation, or peak shift in any Raman Spectra which was attributed to the solubility of the cleaved polymer chains. The melting temperature remained constant at 59C since the bulk of the material did not undergo hydrolysis or transterification reactions. The degradation of PCL is supported by the significant weight loss recorded through various experiments however the exact mechanism was not identified by Raman Spectroscopy. Bioresorbable materials remain an important facet in medical research and the success of synthesizing enzymatically degradable polymers represents a new research opportunity for tissue and scaffold development.

The focus of this study is to validate studies on enzymatic degradation focusing on bulk no, flow conditions in lipase solutions. Enzymes in solution as well as immobilized on resin beads were used, in varying concentration, in order to characterize the degradation of poly(ε-caprolactone), PCL. PCL a material which, has a resorption lifetime of 3 years, had weight loss upwards of 60% weight while most samples in solution experienced 30% after just 10 days. It was found that enzymatic degradation is largely a surface limited reaction with the shape of a material playing little role but the volume to surface area playing an important role in the overall weight loss. Samples submerged in a mixture of immobilized lipase resin beads saw only 8% weight loss in a comparable time frame. An additional test of PCL with immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B (CalB) resin embedded within the film had the largest standard deviation in the weight loss percentage and was the only sample in which the control sample had significant weight loss.