Resumen de Sustainable plastics derived from renewable resources
In this century, the major use of synthetic polymers have been as replacements for more traditional materials, particulary in packaging. Today the packaging industry is by far the major user of plastics. Another interesting application of these materials is drug delivery systems. Polymers have played an integral role in the advancement of drug delivery technology by providing controlled release of therapeutic agents in constant doses over long periods, cyclic dosage and tunable release of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. Modern advances in drug delivery are now predicated upon the rational design of polymers tailored for specific cargo and engineered to exert distinct biological functions. Aliphatic polyesters such as poly(L-lactic acid), poly(butylene succinate), and polyhydroxyalkanoates among others, constitute primary examples of bio-based polymers that distinguish by being fully renewable and displaying partial or total biodegradability. This Ph.D. Thesis is devoted to the synthesis of aliphatic random and block polyesters from renewable resources with application for packaging and drug delivery. The main goal of this project is to develop new bio-based polymers with similar or even improved properties compared to those of conventional plastics obtained from non-renewable sources.
The two cyclic acetals, 2,3-di-O-methylene-L-threitol and dimethyl 2,3-di-O-methylene-L-threarate, were used for the synthesis of two series of PBS copolyesters differing in which unit, butylene or succinate, was replaced, in addition of the corresponding parent homopolyesters. 2,4:3,5-di-O-methylene-D-glucitol was used for the synthesis of PBS copolyesters by melt polycondensation. Three series of polyalkanoates (adipates, suberates and sebacates) were synthesized using as monomers three sugar-based bicyclic diols derived from D-glucose and D-mannose. ABA triblock copolyesters were synthesized by ROP of L-lactide in solution initiated by telechelic D-glucose- and L-tartaric-based polyester macroinitiators. The synthesized polyesters were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and viscosimetry. Thermal properties were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DCS) and thermogravimetry (TGA). Crystalline structure of polyesters was studied by X-ray and its mechanical properties were evaluated as well. Hydrolytic degradation and biodegradation assays were followed by GPC and NMR. Nanoparticles made from triblock copolyesters were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic light-scattering (DLS).
