Anhydric maleic functionalization and polyethylene glycol grafting of lactide-co-trimethylene carbonate copolymers

• Pegylated copolymers of lactide and trimethylene carbonate have been synthesized.
• Grafting with polyethylene glycol was able via maleic anhydride functionalization.
• Drug-loaded microspheres could be prepared from new pegylated copolymers.
• Hydrophilicity of lactide/trimethylene carbonate copolymers increased by pegylation.
• New pegylated copolymers supported cell adhesion and proliferation.

Lactide and trimethylene carbonate copolymers were successfully grafted with polyethylene glycol via previous functionalization with maleic anhydride and using N,N′-diisopropylcarbodiimide as condensing agent. Maleinization led to moderate polymer degradation. Specifically, the weight average molecular weight decreased from 36,200 to 30,200 g/mol for the copolymer having 20 mol% of trimethylene carbonate units.Copolymers were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry and X-ray diffraction. Morphology of spherulites and lamellar crystals was evaluated with optical and atomic force microscopies, respectively. The studied copolymers were able to crystallize despite the randomness caused by the trimethylene carbonate units and the lateral groups. Contact angle measurements indicated that PEG grafted copolymers were more hydrophilic than parent copolymers. This feature justified that enzymatic degradation in lipase medium and proliferation of both epithelial-like and fibroblast-like cells were enhanced. Grafted copolymers were appropriate to prepare regular drug loaded microspheres by the oil-in-water emulsion method. Triclosan release from loaded microspheres was evaluated in two media.