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Catalytic Synthesis and Characterization of Biodegradable ...

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Polymerization <strong>and</strong> Applications <strong>of</strong> <strong>Biodegradable</strong> Polyesters<br />

Figure 1.5.13 Visualization <strong>of</strong> C-6 outgrowth by micrographs in the culture medium (a), (b) in<br />

the presence <strong>of</strong> aniline pentamer cross-linked chitosan, (c) <strong>and</strong> (d) without aniline pentamer<br />

cross-linking chitosan.<br />

Besides the extensively investigated PPy <strong>and</strong> PANi, several electroactive polymers have<br />

been also studied, such as polythiophene (PT) <strong>and</strong> others. For example, a series <strong>of</strong> polymers<br />

composed <strong>of</strong> a PT backbone with oligosiloxane grafted to the b position <strong>of</strong> the thiophene<br />

rings was prepared. 140 All the polymers exhibited different conductivities after doped with<br />

iodine. However, the iodine is toxic to cells <strong>and</strong> the authors only investigated the<br />

biocompatibility <strong>of</strong> undoped polymers. The carbon-carbon bond <strong>of</strong> PT made it inherently<br />

nonbiodegradable. To overcome this drawback, some reports concentrated on the synthesis <strong>of</strong><br />

biodegradable elcetroactive polymers containing heterocycles unit. For example, ester linkers<br />

were introduced to connect the conductive heterocycles (Figure. 1.5.14A). 96 The resulted<br />

polymer is conductive, <strong>and</strong> more importantly, it is biodegradable in the presence <strong>of</strong> esterases<br />

which made it be applicable in vivo. The conductivity <strong>of</strong> the polymer is mainly attributed to<br />

inter <strong>and</strong> intra “electron hopping” formed by the overlap <strong>of</strong> conjugated regions. However, the<br />

doping agent is also iodine. Despite this drawback, the undoped polymer was biocompatible<br />

in vitro. Nerve cells adhered to polymer film <strong>and</strong> readily expressed their nerve-like phenotype<br />

by extending neurites after one day (Figure 1.5.14B, left). After 8 days, significant cell<br />

proliferation was observed (Figure 1.5.14B, right). These data demonstrate that in addition to<br />

being non-toxic to cells in culture, this biodegradable electroactive polymer can also support<br />

cell attachment <strong>and</strong> proliferation. Subsequently, in vivo biocompatibility <strong>of</strong> this polymer was

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