All-natural environmentally degradable poly (butylene terephthalate-co-caprolactone): A theoretical and experimental study of its degradation properties and mechanisms.

The design and production of materials with excellent mechanical properties and biodegradability face significant challenges. Poly (butylene terephthalate-co-caprolactone) copolyesters (PBTCL) is obtained by modifying the engineering plastic polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) with a simple one-pot process using readily biodegradable ε-caprolactone (ε-CL). The material has mechanical properties comparable to those of commercial biodegradable copolyester PBAT. Besides, this copolyester exhibited remarkable degradability in natural environments such as soil and ocean, for example, PBTCL1.91 lost >40 % of its weight after 6 months of immersion in the Bohai Sea. The effect and diversity of specific microorganisms acting on degradation in the ocean were analyzed by 16 s rDNA gene sequencing. Theoretical calculations such as Fukui function and DFT, and experimental studies on water-soluble intermediates and residual matrixes produced after degradation, confirmed that the insertion CL units not only act as active sites themselves susceptible to hydrolysis reactions, but also promote the reactivity of ester bonds between aromatic segments. This work provides insight for the development of novel materials with high performance and environmental degradability.

Fluorescence tracing the degradation process of biodegradable PBAT: Visualization and high sensitivity.

Biodegradable plastics have emerged as a potential solution to the mounting plastic pollution crisis. However, current methods for evaluating the degradation of these plastics are limited in detecting structural changes rapidly and accurately, particularly for PBAT, which contains worrying benzene rings. Inspired by the fact that the aggregation of conjugated groups can endow polymers with intrinsic fluorescence, this work found that PBAT emits a bright blue-green fluoresces under UV irradiation. More importantly, we pioneered a degradation evaluation approach to track the degradation process of PBAT via fluorescence. A blue shift of fluorescence wavelength as the thickness and molecular weight of PBAT film decreased during degradation in an alkali solution was observed. Additionally, the fluorescence intensity of the degradation solution increased gradually as the degradation progressed, and was found to be exponentially correlated with the concentration of benzene ring-containing degradation products following filtration with the correlation coefficient is up to 0.999. This study proposes a promising new strategy for monitoring the degradation process with visualization and high sensitivity.

Enhanced degradation of poly(ethylene terephthalate) by the addition of lactic acid / glycolic acid: composting degradation, seawater degradation behavior and comparison of degradation mechanism.

The degradability improvement of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), one of the most widely used but non-degradable disposable packaging material, is of great significance. However, the balance between degradability and mechanical properties remains a huge challenge. Herein, simple hydroxy acids, lactic acid (LA) and glycolic acid (GA) as easy hydrolysis sites were introduced into non-degradable PET via melt polycondensation. A series of high molecular weight poly(ethylene terephthalate-co-L­lactide) (PETL) and poly(ethylene terephthalate-co-glycolate) (PETG) copolyesters were synthesized with an excellent tensile strength greater than 50 MPa, much higher than that of most commercially available degradable polymers. The introduction of hydroxy acid endows PET with significantly improved composting and seawater degradation performance. Furtherly, the degradation rate of PETG with hydrophilic GA unit was faster than that of PETL, and the mineralization rate of PETG80 reaches 22.0%. The density of functional theory (DFT) calculation revealed that adding hydroxy acid to the PET molecular chain reduced the energy barrier of the hydrolysis reaction. The molecular polarity index (MPI) analysis furtherly confirmed that the higher affinity between the GA unit and water may be the primary reason for the faster degradation of PETG.

Seawater-Degradable Polymers-Fighting the Marine Plastic Pollution.

Polymers shape human life but they also have been identified as pollutants in the oceans due to their long lifetime and low degradability. Recently, various researchers have studied the impact of (micro)plastics on marine life, biodiversity, and potential toxicity. Even if the consequences are still heavily discussed, prevention of unnecessary waste is desired. Especially, newly designed polymers that degrade in seawater are discussed as potential alternatives to commodity polymers in certain applications. Biodegradable polymers that degrade in vivo (used for biomedical applications) or during composting often exhibit too slow degradation rates in seawater. To date, no comprehensive summary for the degradation performance of polymers in seawater has been reported, nor are the studies for seawater-degradation following uniform standards. This review summarizes concepts, mechanisms, and other factors affecting the degradation process in seawater of several biodegradable polymers or polymer blends. As most of such materials cannot degrade or degrade too slowly, strategies and innovative routes for the preparation of seawater-degradable polymers with rapid degradation in natural environments are reviewed. It is believed that this selection will help to further understand and drive the development of seawater-degradable polymers.

[Cytocompatibility of PBS/PLA blend as the sternal fixation material].

UNLABELLED: To evaluate biocompatibility and cytotoxicity of PBS/PLA blend as the material for sternal fixation. METHODS: L929 cell line was used to assess the cytotoxicity and cytocompatibility of PBS/PLA blend by incubation of the cells with the aqueous extract of the material for 3 days. The cytocompatibility of the material was evaluated by observing the proliferation of the cells cultured on the surface of the material. The proliferation of the cells cultured on the surface of the material was compared with that of the cells cultured on medical polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride to assess the cytotoxicity of the material. RESULTS: L929 cells showed no morphological changes after a 3-day incubation with the aqueous extract of the material. The cells cultured on the surface of the blend material exhibited better proliferative activity than those cultured on medical polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride, demonstrating no obvious cytotoxicity of the material. CONCLUSION: PBS/PLA blend material possesses excellent cytocompatibility and can be a promising biodegradable polymer for sternal fixation.