Degradation Profile of Poly(ϵ‐caprolactone)–the Influence of Macroscopic and Macromolecular Biomaterial Design

Macroscopic and macromolecular material design and their influence on hydrolysis mechanism of poly(ϵ‐caprolactone) (PCL) was evaluated. Homogenous discs of linear PCL, porous scaffolds of linear PCL and crosslinked PCL networks were subjected to hydrolytic degradation for up to 364 days in 37°C and pH 7.4 phosphate buffer solution. After different hydrolysis times, mass loss and changes in molecular weight and thermal properties were determined in parallel to extraction and analysis of the formed degradation products. Size exclusion chromatography (SEC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) were used for the analyses. The results clearly demonstrated different degradation profiles and susceptibilities towards hydrolysis depending on the macroscopic and macromolecular biomaterial design.

Keywords:

• degradation
• hydrolysis
• poly(ϵ‐caprolactone)
• macromolecular design

5 Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (Grant no. A302:139) for their financial support of this work.