Low Molecular Weight Poly(Lactide-&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;co&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;-Caprolactone) for Tissue Adhesion and Tetracycline Hydrochloride Controlled Release in Wound Management
The use of biopolymers as bioadhesives for human tissue is becoming a preferred alternative to suturing due to their superior adhesive, biocompatible, and biodegradable properties. In this work, low molecular weight poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (P(LA-co-CL) was synthesized to achieve the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the copolymer at ambient temperature so that during application on the skin, the copolymer when combined with chitosan (CHI) into the CHI/P(LA-co-CL) film could provide the strong support at the injury site. Using alcohols with different numbers of hydroxyl groups as the co-initiator in polymerization provided the distinctive characteristics of copolymers. Among all copolymers synthesized, P(LA-co-CL) copolymer using pentaerythritol as the co-initiator when combined with CHI at the ratio of copolymer/CHI at 70/30 yielded the good film properties in tissue adhesion and tetracycline hydrochloride release.