Physicobiological properties and biocompatibility of biodegradable poly(oxalate-co-oxamide)

The development of biodegradable and biocompatible materials is the basis for tissue engineering and drug delivery. The aims of this study are to develop the poly(oxalate‐co‐oxamide) (POXAM) and evaluate its physicochemical properties and biocompatibility as the initial step for the development of new biomaterials. POXAM had a molecular weight of ∼70,000 Da and rapidly degraded under physiological condition with a half‐hydrolysis of ∼4 days. POXAM films exhibited relative hydrophilic nature because of the presence of oxamide linkages and induced a higher cell attachment and proliferation compared with poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) (PLGA) films. In vitro inflammatory responses to POXAM were evaluated using murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells. POXAM films minimally stimulated the cells to generate less production of tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) than PLGA films. We assessed the in vivo inflammatory responses to POXAM films implanted in the dorsal skin of rats. Histological studies revealed that POXAM provoked remarkably reduced inflammatory responses, evidenced by the less accumulation of inflammatory cells and giant cells, thinner fibrotic capsules, in comparison with PLGA. Given its excellent biocompatibility, fast degradation, and very mild inflammatory responses, POXAM has great potential for biomedical applications, such as scaffolds, wound dressing, and fast drug delivery. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A:, 2011.