Hydrolytic degradation of tyrosine-derived polycarbonates, a class of new biomaterials. Part I: study of model compounds.

Tyrosine-derived polycarbonates have been identified as promising, degradable polymers for use in orthopedic applications. These polymers are non-toxic, biocompatible, and exhibit good bone apposition when in contact with hard tissue. Tyrosine-derived polycarbonates were designed to incorporate two hydrolytically labile bonds in each repeat unit, a carbonate bond that connects the monomer units and an ester bond connecting a pendent chain. The relative hydrolysis rate of the two bonds will determine the type of degradation products and the degradation pathway of the polymers. In order to study the degradation mechanism of these polycarbonates in more detail, a series of small model compounds were designed that mimic the repeat unit of the polymer. Results obtained from the use of these model compounds suggested that the backbone carbonate bond is hydrolyzed at a faster rate than the pendent chain ester bond. Increasing the length of the alkyl pendent chain lowered the hydrolysis rates of both hydrolyzable linkages, possibly by hindering the access of water molecules to those sites. The hydrolysis rates of both linkages were pH dependent with the lowest rate at pH about 5. The results from this study can be used to explain the degradation behavior of the corresponding polycarbonates as well as their degradation mechanisms. This information is essential when evaluating the utility of tyrosine-derived polycarbonates as degradable medical implant materials.

Hydrolytic degradation of tyrosine-derived polycarbonates, a class of new biomaterials. Part II: 3-yr study of polymeric devices.

The kinetics and mechanisms of in vitro degradation of tyrosine-derived polycarbonates, a new class of polymeric biomaterials, were studied extensively at 37 degrees C. These polymers carry an alkyl ester pendent chain that allows the fine-tuning of the polymer's material properties, its biological interactions with cells and tissue, and its degradation behavior. The polymer carrying an ethyl ester pendent chain, poly(DTE carbonate), has been established as a promising orthopedic implant material, exhibiting bone apposition when in contact with hard tissue. Tyrosine-derived polycarbonates are relatively stable and degrade only very slowly in vitro. Therefore, accelerated studies were conducted at 50 and 65 degrees C to observe the behavior of polymers during the later stages of degradation. Varying the pendent chain length affected the rate of water uptake, initial degradation rate, and physical stability of the polymeric devices. During the 3-yr study, the polymer degraded by random chain cleavage of the carbonate bonds, accompanied by a relatively small amount of pendent chain de-esterification. No mass loss was observed during this period at 37 degrees C, but mass loss was readily evident during the accelerated studies at 50 and 65 degrees C. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that mass loss will occur also at 37 degrees C, albeit only after extensive backbone carbonate cleavage and pendent chain ester hydrolysis. The dimension and surface area of the devices influenced the initial degradation rate, but did not significantly affect the overall rate of degradation. No evidence of "acid dumping" or the release of acidic residues found during the degradation of poly(D,L-lactic acid) were observed for this family of tyrosine-derived polycarbonates.

Structure-property correlations in a combinatorial library of degradable biomaterials.

A combinatorial library of degradable polyarylates was prepared. These polymers are A-B-type copolymers consisting of an alternating sequence of a diphenol and a diacid. The library was prepared by copolymerizing, in all possible combinations, 14 different tyrosine-derived diphenols and eight different aliphatic diacids, resulting in 8 x 14 = 112 distinct polymers. This approach (a) increases the number of available polymeric candidate materials for medical applications, and (b) facilitates the identification of correlations between polymer structure and glass transition temperature, air-water contact angle, mechanical properties, and fibroblast proliferation. The pendent chain and backbone structures were systematically varied by (a) simple homologative variations in the number of methylene groups, (b) substitution of oxygen for methylene groups, and (c) introduction of branched and aromatic structures. The polymers contained within the library exhibited incremental variations in Tg (from 2 degrees C to 91 degrees C) and air-water contact angle (from 64 degrees to 101 degrees ). Fibroblast proliferation (in vitro, serum-containing media) ranged from approximating that measured on tissue culture polystyrene to complete absence of proliferation. Generally, decreased proliferation correlated linearly with increased surface hydrophobicity, except in those polymers derived from oxygen-containing diacids in their backbone which were uniformly good growth substrates even if their surfaces were very hydrophobic. In a selected subgroup of polymers, tensile strength of thin solvent cast films ranged from about 6 to 45 MPa, while Young's modulus (stiffness) ranged from about 0.3 to 1.7 GPa. Combinatorial biomaterial libraries such as these tyrosine-derived polyarylates permit the systematic study of material-dependent biological responses and provide the medical device designer with the option to choose a suitable material from a library of related polymers that encompasses a broad range of properties.

Thermal properties and physical ageing behaviour of tyrosine-derived polycarbonates.

Tyrosine-derived polycarbonates are new carbonate-amide copolymers. These materials have been suggested for use in medical applications, but their thermal properties and their enthalpy relaxation kinetics (physical ageing behaviour) have so far not been evaluated in detail. Since structure-property correlations involving enthalpy relaxation are rarely investigated for biomedical polymers, a series of four tyrosine-derived polycarbonates was used as a model system to study the effect of pendant chain length on the thermal properties and the enthalpy relaxation kinetics. The chemical structure of the test polymers was identical except for the length of their respective pendant chains. This feature facilitated the identification of structure-property correlations. Quantitative differential scanning calorimetry was utilized to determine the thermal properties and to measure enthalpy relaxation kinetics. The glass transition temperature of this family of polymers decreased from 93 to 52 degrees C when the length of the pendant chain was increased from two to eight carbon atoms. Successive additions of methylene groups to the pendant chain made a fairly constant contribution to lowering the glass transition temperature. For pendant chains of four or more methylene groups, the rate of enthalpy relaxation was independent of the number of methylene groups in the pendant chain. The enthalpy relaxation data were fitted to the Cowie-Ferguson model and the relaxation times obtained were about 90 min. Dynamic mechanical analysis was employed to study the viscoelastic properties. The available observations indicate that the polymers become more flexible with increasing length of the pendant chain. The results suggest that the length of the pendant chain can be used effectively to control important material properties in this series of polymers.