Synthesis of Poly(D,L-Lactic Acid-Co-Glucose) via Direct Polycondensation and its Characterization

Directly using cheap D,L-lactic acid (D,L-LA) and glucose (Glu) as starting materials, biodegradable material poly(D,L-lactic acid-co-Glucose) [P(D,L-LA-co-Glu)] was synthesized via melt polycondensation. When n(Glu) : n(D,L-LA) = 1:200, the appropriate synthetic condition is that: after 120 °C prepolymerization for 5 h, 160 °C melt polymerization catalyzed by w(SnCl2) = 0.5% for 5 h. P(D,L-LA-co-Glu) with different molar feed ratios were synthesized and characterized with [η], FTIR, 1H NMR, GPC and XRD. The Tg of all copolymer P(D,L-LA-co-Glu) was lower than that of homopolymer polylactic acid directly synthesized via melt polycondensation. The copolymers with Mw from 2,100 Da to 5,100 Da could meet the demand of drug delivery carrier material.