(28d) Hydrolytic Degradation of PEO-B-PCL Films with Varied Crystalline Content

PEO-b-PCL copolymers are the subject of numerous research endeavors due to their applicability in biomaterials. Both PEO and PCL crystallize at nearly the same temperature, which is unique to this block copolymer. Control of the crystallization behavior could lead to more diverse properties in degradation and drug release. Our previous work has shown that preparation techniques can be used to manipulate the crystallinity and morphology of the films. Here, work that has been done to evaluate the degradation of copolymers with varying PCL weight fraction at different pHs will be presented. Studies show that at extreme pH, degradation is faster and that higher PCL content decreases the degradation rate. Preliminary data regarding the affect of controlled crystallization will be provided to show that the manipulation of relative crystallinity in PEO-b-PCL systems may provide opportunities to tune the macroscopic properties.