Study on the hydrolytic degradation of poly(α,β-malic acid) by direct polycondensation

The development of synthetic biodegradable polymers such as poly(α-hydroxy acid) is vital in constructing medical devices, including scaffolds and sutures, and has attracted growing interest in biomedicine. We report the hydrolysis of α,β-PMA as a biodegradable, bioabsorbable water-soluble polymer. α,β-PMA hydrolysis was studied in phosphate buffer solutions of pH=5.5, 7.0, 7.4, and 8.0. After 10 days, most main chain ester units of α,β-PMAs had decomposed. The physicochemical properties of α,β-PMA established here are expected to facilitate the production of α,β-PMA of different molecular weights, which may have potential usefulness in biomaterials.