Novel degradable polymers combining D-gluconic acid, a sugar of vegetal origin, with lactic and glycolic acids.

To synthesize functionalized poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid)-based polyesters for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications such as controlled drug delivery, D-gluconic acid was considered as an interesting source of comonomer. Accordingly D-gluconic acid was used to synthesize novel 1,4-dioxane-2,5-diones with protected hydroxyl groups, namely 3-(1,2:3,4-tetraoxobutyl-di-O-isopropylidene)-dioxane-2,5-dione (5a) and 3-methyl-6-(1,2:3,4-tetraoxobutyl-di-O-isopropylidene)-dioxane-2,5-dione (5b). The ring-opening homopolymerization and copolymerization of these cyclic dilactones with DL-lactide provided novel degradable polyesters with higher glass transition temperatures than poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) polymers.