I-Corps: Natural Product-based, Mechanically-diverse Degradable Engineering Materials

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是使用可降解的天然产品为基础的材料，以减少因环境中丢失和丢弃的塑料制品造成的污染。基于天然产品的聚碳酸酯具有重大的潜在环境和社会影响，因为它们是由天然产品制成的，从而减少了聚合物材料对以石油为基础的原料的依赖。这些聚碳酸酯材料的另一个优点是，在降解后，它们会复制天然产品和二氧化碳，从而有可能进行环境再吸收。可降解聚合物材料的商业潜力很大，因为它们可以快速生产并具有广泛可调的机械性能，允许它们在各种商业产品中使用，从一次性食品容器到高性能工程材料。这个i-Corps项目涉及一种安全、可持续的解决方案，以应对可能污染和破坏海洋和其他环境的耐用塑料材料的挑战。这项i-Corps技术涉及使用丰富的天然产品来生产具有一系列物理和机械性能的聚合物网络和复合材料，以及程序化的分解途径。人们已经开发出合成策略，将葡萄糖、奎尼酸和其他天然产物转化为多功能单体，这些单体可以通过光化学或热引发交联法快速聚合，从而获得独特的聚碳酸酯材料。通过在交联过程中使用模具，这些材料可以被加工成多种形状和尺寸。通过改变交联条件，可以得到具有从橡胶弹性体到硬质塑料的力学特性的聚碳酸酯。根据交联剂的密度和亲水性，可以调节降解时间。这些材料也没有显示出对细胞生长的负面影响。总而言之，简单的制造技术和快速、可靠的化学相结合，可以获得具有广泛物理和机械性能的多功能和无毒的天然材料家族，在广泛的应用中产生商业前景。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project will be the use of degradable natural product-based materials for the reduction of pollution stemming from lost and discarded plastic goods in the environment. Natural product-based polycarbonates have significant potential environmental and societal impact, as they are made from natural products, reducing the dependency of polymeric materials on petroleum-based feedstocks. Another advantage of these polycarbonate materials is that upon degradation, they reproduce natural products and carbon dioxide, giving the potential for environmental resorption. The commercial potential of degradable polymer materials is extensive when they can be produced rapidly and have broadly-tunable mechanical properties, allowing for their use in a diverse range of commercial products, from disposable food containers to high performance engineering materials.This I-Corps project involves a safe, sustainable solution to the challenge of durable plastic materials that can foul and damage marine and other environments. This I-Corps technology involves the use of abundant natural products to produce polymer networks and composite materials having a range of physical and mechanical properties, and a programmed disintegration pathway. Synthetic strategies have been developed to transform glucose, quinic acid, and other natural products into multi-functional monomers that can be rapidly polymerized using photochemically- or thermally-initiated crosslinking to afford unique polycarbonate materials. Through the use of molds during crosslinking, these materials can be fabricated into many shapes and sizes. Polycarbonates with mechanical characteristics from a rubbery elastomer to a rigid plastic can be achieved by varying the crosslinking conditions. Hydrolytic degradation times can be tuned, depending on the crosslink density and hydrophilicity. These materials have also demonstrated no negative effects on the growth of cells. In summary, a combination of simple fabrication techniques and rapid, reliable chemistry can be employed to obtain a versatile and non-toxic natural family of materials with a breadth of physical and mechanical properties, generating commercial promise in a wide range of applications.