Glutathione-responsive biodegradable polyurethanes based on dithiodiundecanol

Biodegradable polyurethanes were prepared from 11,11′-dithiodiundecanol employed as soft segment incorporating hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and 1,4-butanediol (BDO) serving as hard segment. The disulfide bonds in dithiodiundecanol could be cleaved into thiols in the presence of glutathione (GSH) through disulfide-thiol exchange reaction, which fulfilled the polyurethanes with responsive biodegradability. In vitro degradation test in PBS buffer at 37 °C, the molecular weight of polyurethanes substantially decreased and the surface morphology was significantly eroded after 8 days. The degradation reaction constants were calculated and kinetic equations were established.