Characterization and in vitro degradation of poly(octadecanoic anhydride).

Poly(octadecanoic anhydride) (POA) has been prepared by melt polycondensation of octadecanoic diacid. POA was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). The results of in vitro degradation and SEM micrographs show that the erosion process of POA is neither bulk nor perfect surface erosion but rather has elements of both in phosphate buffer at 37 degrees C. The moving erosion front is characteristic of surface erosion whereas the remaining porous shell stems from bulk erosion. While a significant special degradation property of POA is that POA presents a very slow degradation rate in acidic condition (pH 5.98), only 1.64% weight loss for 20 days, and it completely degrades after 18 days in basic buffer (pH 7.4). Comparing with poly(sebacic anhydride) (PSA), POA has the higher crystallization degree, and the slower hydrolytic rate.