Biodegradable poly(ethylene oxide)/poly(ϵ‐caprolactone) multiblock copolymers

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A series of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/poly(ϵ‐caprolactone) (PCL) containing biodegradable poly(ether ester urethane)s, covering a wide range of compositions, were synthesized and characterized. The synthesis consisted of a two‐step process. During the first step, the ring‐opening reaction of ϵ‐caprolactone was carried out, initiated by the hydroxyl terminal groups of the PEO chain. The second step involved the chain extension of these PCL–PEO–PCL tri‐ mers with hexamethylene diisocyanate. By varying either the ethylene oxide/ϵ‐caprolactone ratio or the length of both segments, we obtained a series of polymers having different morphologies and displaying a broad range of properties. © 2001 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 59: 273–281, 2002