@misc{mathew_effect_of_2015, 
author={Mathew, S., Baudis, S., Neffe, A.T., Behl, M., Wischke, C., Lendlein, A.},
title={Effect of diisocyanate linkers on the degradation characteristics of copolyester urethanes as potential drug carrier matrices},
year={2015},
howpublished = {journal article},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpb.2015.03.025},
abstract = {In this study, the effect of three aliphatic diisocyanate linkers, L-lysine diisocyanate ethyl ester (LDI), hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), and racemic 2,2,4-/2,4,4-trimethyl hexamethylene diisocyanate (TMDI), on the degradation of oligo[(rac-lactide)-co-glycolide] (64:36 mol%) based polyester urethanes (PEU) was examined. Samples were characterized for their molecular weight, mass loss, water uptake, sequence structure, and thermal and mechanical properties. Compared to non-segmented PLGA, the PEU showed higher water uptake and generally degraded faster. Interestingly, the rate of degradation was not directly correlating with the hydrophilicity of the diisocyanate moieties; instead, competing intra-/intermolecular hydrogen bonds in between urethane moieties appear to substantially decrease the rate of degradation for LDI-derived PEU. By comparing microparticles (μm) and films (mm) as matrices of different dimensions, it was shown that autocatalysis remains a contributor to degradation of the larger-sized PEU matrices as it is typical for non-segmented lactide/glycolide copolymers. The shown capacity of lactide/glycolide-based multiblock copolymers to degrade faster than PLGA and exhibit improved elastic properties could be of interest for medical implants and drug release systems.},
note = {Online available at: \url{https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpb.2015.03.025} (DOI). Mathew, S.; Baudis, S.; Neffe, A.; Behl, M.; Wischke, C.; Lendlein, A.: Effect of diisocyanate linkers on the degradation characteristics of copolyester urethanes as potential drug carrier matrices. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics  A. 2015. vol. 95, 18-26. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2015.03.025}}