Diallyl tartrate as a multifunctional monomer for bio-polymer synthesis

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Biomaterials

Background:

• Allyl functional groups typically resist polymerization to high conversions.
• Biodegradable polymers are crucial for sustainable materials and medical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize a biodegradable polymer from diallyl tartrate using photoinitiation.
• To characterize the properties and biodegradability of the resulting polymer.
• To assess the cytocompatibility of the polymer and its degradation products.

Main Methods:

• Polymerization of diallyl tartrate via photoinitiation.
• Characterization using differential photocalorimetry (DPC) and thermal analysis.
• In vitro biodegradation studies and cytotoxicity assays using fibroblast cells.

Main Results:

• A highly cross-linked, amorphous, rigid polymer with a glass transition temperature of ~90°C and storage modulus of ~1 GPa was synthesized.
• The polymer exhibited moderate in vitro biodegradability, losing 50% mass in ~12 weeks.
• The polymer and its degradation products demonstrated non-cytotoxicity to fibroblast cells.

Conclusions:

• Photoinitiation overcomes limitations of allyl group polymerization, enabling rapid synthesis of functional polymers.
• Diallyl tartrate is a promising monomer for creating biodegradable, non-cytotoxic polymers for biomaterial applications.