Summary
Polyurethanes based on a 50/50 copoly(L-lactide/ɛ-caprolactone) prepolymer and butanediisocyanate were made. Chain extending a diisocyanate terminated prepolymer with butanediamine was not possible due to the susceptibility of the lactide bond to aminolysis. Chain extension with butanediol resulted in a polymer with poor mechanical properties due to transesterification. When the copolymer prepolymer was chain-extended with an isocyanate terminated block, transesterification with the chain-extender was avoided and the mechanical properties were increased. When the length of the hard segments was increased the mechanical properties increased further. A L-lactide/ɛ-caprolactone based polyurethane with a tensile strength and modulus of respectively 45 MPa and 60 MPa was made. The polymer contained no poly(L-lactide) crystals and was easy to process. Compared to the high molecular weight 50/50 copoly(L-lactide/ɛ-caprolactone) the polyurethane showed better mechanical properties, is expected to have the same adhesive properties and is expected to have a slower degradation rate. These factors makes this polymer excessively useful for in-vivo tissue engineering in for instance meniscal reconstruction material, nerve guide and artificial skin.
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Received: 12 March 1998/Revised version: 26 June 1998/Accepted: 26 June 1998
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de Groot, J., Spaans, C., Dekens, F. et al. On the role of aminolysis and transesterification in the synthesis of ɛ-caprolactone and L-lactide based polyurethanes. Polymer Bulletin 41, 299–306 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002890050366
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002890050366