Synthesis and characterisation of poly (l-lactic acid) galactosyl derivatives; access to functionalised microspheres

A new series of galactosyl-derived polymers has been used for the preparation of microspheres. The strategy is based on the modification of the terminal carboxylic group l-PLA (73.000) by coupling to a galactosyl antenna in the presence of the peptide coupling agents: DCC/HOBT. The degree of functionalisation varies between 60 and 70%, and antenna density between 1.74 and 2.78. The characterisations of the new products were carried out using 1H NMR, gel permeation chromatography, and acid base titration; the size of the functionalised microspheres was determined to be 210–270 μm by DLS.