Development and characterization of photopolymerizable biodegradable materials from PEG–PLA–PEG block macromonomers

As tissue engineering and drug delivery applications increase in both number and complexity, the demand for new synthetic biocompatible polymers with precisely tailored properties grows accordingly. Block copolymers are a particularly promising biomaterial as the physical and physiological properties of these polymers can be closely controlled through manipulation of the type and organization of the blocks in the polymer's backbone. In this work, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) were incorporated into PEG–PLA–PEG block macromonomers with (meth)acrylate functionality to form photopolymerizable, highly cross-linked polymers for potential use in a variety of biomedical applications. Simply by directing the PLA:PEG ratio in these macromonomers, the hydrophobicity, physical behavior, degradation, and biocompatibility of the resulting polymer were controlled. Specifically, it was found that by increasing the PLA:PEG ratio, the degree of water uptake and the mechanical strength of the material is significantly decreased, while the glass transition temperature and degradation of the PEG–PLA polymers are delayed. Additionally, the biocompatibility of the PEG–PLA polymers is significantly influenced by the chemical composition of the material as increased PLA generally yields greater cell compatibility. By demonstrating the versatility of the photopolymerizable PEG–PLA polymers, the results of this study indicate that these materials have the potential to serve as a synthetic biomaterial platform, in which the properties of the polymer can be tailored to a variety of tissue engineering or drug delivery applications.