title: Biodegradable poly(ethylene oxide)/poly(epsilon-caprolactone) multiblock copolymers.
abstract: A series of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) containing biodegradable poly(ether ester urethane)s, covering a wide range of compositions, were synthesized and characterized. The synthesis consisted of a two-step process. During the first step, the ring-opening reaction of epsilon-caprolactone was carried out, initiated by the hydroxyl terminal groups of the PEO chain. The second step involved the chain extension of these PCL-PEO-PCL trimers with hexamethylene diisocyanate. By varying either the ethylene oxide/epsilon-caprolactone ratio or the length of both segments, we obtained a series of polymers having different morphologies and displaying a broad range of properties.
authors.affiliation: Casali Institute of Applied Chemistry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904 Jerusalem, Israel. danielc@vms.huji.ac.il
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cohn
authors.forename: Theodor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.forename: M Fernanda
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Epstein
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008422:Materials Testing; D011091:Polyesters / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D014867:Water; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011091:Polyesters; C405621:poly(epsilon-caprolactone-co-ethylene oxide); D014867:Water; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols