Fumarate-co-PEG-co-sebacate photopolymer and its evaluation as a drug release system

Abstract

Fumarate-co-PEG-co-sebacates with different fumaric/sebacic acid ratios are prepared by a simple thermal polycondensation reaction using p-toluensulfonic acid as catalyst. These polymeric precursors are purified by washing with an appropriate organic solvent and the dried materials were photocured to yield elastic films under mild conditions. The properties of polymeric precursors and elastic materials are studied in detail and correlated with fumaric acid/sebacic acid ratios used in the thermal esterification reactions. It is shown that a higher amount of sebacic in the starting polymer leads to softer final film materials, with lower Tg and G´ values, which also show higher degradation rates in vitro. Finally, the films are also evaluated as drug release carriers for in vitro release of Cephalexin and Progesterone. The results obtained in these studies indicate that the careful tailoring of the fumaric acid/sebacic acid ratio in the esterification reaction allows to finely tune the thermal, mechanical a degradation properties of the final cross-linked elastic films.