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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Synthesis of Programmable Main-chain Liquid-crystalline Elastomers Using a Two-stage Thiol-acrylate Reaction
Published on: January 19, 2016
Photocurable biodegradable liquid copolymers: synthesis of acrylate-end-capped trimethylene carbonate-based
Takehisa Matsuda1, Il Keun Kwon, Satoru Kidoaki
1Division of Biomedical Engineering, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. matsuda@med.kyushu-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
Various photocurable liquid biodegradable trimethylene carbonate (TMC)-based (co)oligomers were prepared by ring-opening (co)polymerization of TMC with or without L-lactide (LL) using low molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) (mol wt 200, 600, or 1000) or trimethylolpropane (TMP) as an initiator. Resultant (co)oligomers were pastes, viscous liquids, or liquids at room temperature, depending on the monomer composition and monomer/initiator ratio. Liquid (co)oligomers were subsequently end-capped with acrylate groups. Upon visible-light irradiation in the presence of camphorquinone as a radical generator, rapid liquid-to-solid transformation occurred to produce photocured solid. The photocuring yield increased with photoirradiation time, photointensity, and camphorquinone concentration. The photocured polymers derived from low molecular weight PEG (PEG200) and TMP exhibited much reduced hydrolysis potential compared with PEG1000-derived polymers in terms of weight loss, water uptake, and swelling depth. Force-distance curve measurements by nanoindentation using atomic force microscopy clearly showed that Young's moduli of the photocured polymer films decreased with increasing hydrolysis time. Their potential biomedical applications are discussed.
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