Degradable Polycarbonates from Polyhydroxy Natural Products

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In this project funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Karen L. Wooley of Texas A&M University will design synthetic strategies for the development of polymer materials that originate from renewable resources, exhibit novel combinations of strength, toughness, and hydrolytic degradability, and undergo breakdown to biologically-beneficial or benign by-products. This project combines polyhydroxy natural products as the monomeric building blocks, and carbonates, found in common engineering materials, as the linkages. Hydrolytic degradation will produce the polyhydroxy compound plus carbon dioxide. Two classes of natural monomers, D-glucose and quinic acid, will be evaluated for the construction of polycarbonates, each of which will hydrolyze to carbon dioxide plus the saccharide or quinic acid, respectively. The physical, mechanical and stability properties will be tuned by the chemical compositions and structures, controlled by the advancement of synthetic methodologies by which to prepare such materials. The broader impacts involve (1) diverse and extensive education, training and recruiting of the next generation of chemists, who are capable in chemistry and engineering, (2) advances to synthetic polymer chemistry, and (3) the creation of novel materials that have the potential to positively impact society. Students/postdoctoral associates will be trained in synthetic organic and polymer chemistries of challenging polyhydroxy and carbohydrate-based systems, they will gain expertise in rigorous physicochemical and mechanical characterization, they will be exposed to engineering concepts, and they will gain an appreciation for the creation of materials for important environmental, biomedical and other applications.This work will produce polymer materials for use as engineering plastics that originate from natural sources, thereby reducing dependence on petrochemicals, and that later degrade into natural compounds, to promote biological and environmental clearance. These materials are designed with aspects of engineering-type construction materials from Nature (e.g. cellulose, chitin, etc.) that are degradable, resorbable and recyclable. Ultimately, these polymers could have the potential to replace common plastics and to be developed for high-end medical and orthopedic device applications.