Synthesis and characterization of glycolide/lactide/caprolactone tri-component copolymer

A series of tri-component copolyesters composed of glycolide/lactide/caprolactone (PGLC) were obtained by bulk ring-opening copolymerization of glycolide(GA), L-lactide (L-LA) and caprolactone(CL) with Sn(Oct)(2) as catalyst for the purpose of biomedical applications. Structure of the PGLC copolyester was characterized by means of GPC, H-1-NMR, DSC and X-ray diffractometry techniques. It was found that the obtained polymer was a pure copolymer that consisting of no other side-produced polymers and the copolyester was a random copolymer that presented an amorphous structure in a large range of composition. The hydrophilicity and degradation rate of the copolyester were also studied in detail and it was found that the hydrophilicity and hydrolysis rate were improved by increasing the amount of GA. The mechanical properties of the PGLC copolyester were identified by measuring the tensile strength and the elongation at break. The elongation of the copolyester could be improved by introducing CL to the PLGA. That the PGLC copolyester was a potential biomedical material was suggested.