Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: Poly(lactic acid) (PLA), is used in a wide variety of applications.It is a well studied polymer and offers many advantages, such as being derived from renewable resources, being biodegradable, FDA approved for biomedical applications, and commercially available.The main synthetic drawback is that the only sites for post-polymerization functionalization are at the two end groups.By incorporating 3-hydroxy-2bromopropionic acid as a co-monomer with lactic acid, a site for post-polymerization functionalization can be added.Since the halogen is alpha to a carbonyl, it is activated toward nucleophlic substitution, radical formation, and enolate chemistry.The spacing on the backbone of our polymer allows for additional functionalization including rearrangement, electrophilic aromatic substitution, and cationic ring-opening polymerization.
Author: Colin Wright
Institution: University of Akron
Language: English
Subfield: Biomaterials
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2521675829