Biomimetic Chemocatalytic Cascades-A New Strategy for Molecular Design of Degradable Polymer Systems.

ABSTRACT: Biological systems often involve cascading molecular signals; for example, blood coagulation involves a cascade of serial and parallel reactions catalyzed by enzymes. The present study draws inspiration from such complex biological systems to demonstrate, through a simple example, the purposeful design of a cascade system that enables control over polymer degradation kinetics. Micron size fibers of polylactide (PLA), cellulose acetate (CA), and their mixtures are subjected to hydrolysis at varying temperatures. Cleavage of the PLA produces an organic acid functional group that catalyzes the CA hydrolysis, thus demonstrating the use of synthetic molecular signaling. Furthermore, the presence of CA inhibits the degradation of PLA thereby demonstrating molecular feedback, another hallmark of

SUBMITTER: Tan B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11866919 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature