Synthesis and characterisation of copolymers of methyl acrylate and poly(glycolide) macromonomers

This paper describes the synthesis of graft copolymers with a main chain of acrylic nature; the grafts attached to the backbone are composed of a biodegradable polyester, poly(glycolic acid), with well-known applications in medicine. The synthesis has been carried out by radical polymerisation of methyl acrylate and poly(glycolic acid) chains that have been functionalised previously with a methacrylic residue. These functionalised chains have been synthesised by the ring opening polymerisation of the cyclic dimer of glycolic acid, glycolide, using a functionalised initiator. All the products have been characterised spectroscopically. The thermal properties of the copolymers have also been measured. These results indicate that the copolymers have a biphasic morphology. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.