Multifunctional polyesters as new candidate materials for biomedical applications. Synthesis and structural characterization

Abstract

The present work was aimed at the development of functional polymeric materials to be used in the targeted delivery of proteic drug and tissue engineering fields. The adopted strategy was based on the design of special polymer classes whose structures and functionality could be easily modified by finely tuned synthetic procedures. Poly(ether ester)s containing H-bonding units were chosen as promising materials for the proposed applications. Commercially available precursors were successfully used for the synthesis of symmetrical diesters containing different H-bonding groups (amide, carbamate, and urea moieties). In all cases, pure products were obtained in good yields. Bulk polycondensation of the monomeric precursors with different mixtures of 1,4-butanediol and PEG1000 diol afforded a variety of high molecular weight polymeric structures. Physical-chemical characterization of the polymers indicates that their thermal, mechanical, and swelling properties can be tailored by a proper selection of the H-bonding group and of the composition of the feed mixture.