title: Synthesis and characterization of biodegradable polylactide-grafted dextran and its application as compatilizer.
abstract: Brush-like biodegradable polylactide-grafted dextran copolymer (PLA-g-dextran) was by a bulk polymerization reaction using a trimethylsilyl-protected (TMS) dextran as macroinitiator and stannous octoate as catalyst. After the polymerization, the TMS groups could be easily removed by immersing the copolymer in methanol for 48 h. The PLA-g-dextran copolymers were characterized by (1)H NMR, GPC and intrinsic viscosity measurements. Besides, mouse 3T3 fibroblasts were cultured on these copolymeric substrates together with pure polylactide (PLA). Although the copolymers exhibited better hydrophilicity and cell affinity compared to pure PLA because of the incorporation of glucose units and the brush-like architecture, it was found that the cells still could not migrate into the center part of scaffold made of PLA-g-dextran copolymer. In result, PLA-g-dextran copolymers themselves were not an appropriate choice for the cell scaffold material, however, it could be used as compatilizer to ameliorate the compatibility between hydrophilic dextran and hydrophobic PLA due to its amphiphilic structure, which could improve the mechanical properties of PLA/dextran blends by reducing the phase separation between PLA and dextran. Therefore, the PLA/dextran blends, which had good cell affinity and moderate mechanical strength, might be prospect cell scaffold materials.
authors.affiliation: PCLCC and Center for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Yuqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.forename: Jianzhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bei
authors.forename: Shenguo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002460:Cell Line; D048429:Cell Size; D002470:Cell Survival; D003911:Dextrans / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D005347:Fibroblasts; D008422:Materials Testing; D051379:Mice; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003911:Dextrans; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; C033616:poly(lactide)