Biodegradable addition polymer, free

This indicates the possibility of making addition polymers biodegradable by the introduction of ester linkages in to the backbone. Since the free radical ring-opening polymerization of cyclic ketene acetals, such as 2-methylene-1,3-dioxepane (1, Scheme I), made possible the introduction of ester groups into the backbone of addition polymers, this appeared to be an attractive method for the synthesis of biodegradable addition polymers. 

PIBCA nanospheres were injected subcutaneously to rats. Autoradiographic pictures obtained after using radiolabelled polymer have shown a progressive staining reduction in the muscular tissue suggesting that nanospheres were slowly biodegraded. In the same study, nanospheres were found to release a peptide (GRF) in a sustained manner. Comparison of the AUC of free GRF and GRF-loaded nanospheres showed that in addition to the slow release process nanospheres were able to improve the bioavailability of the peptide. This improvement could be attributed to the fact that free administered GRF is very quickly metabolized at the injection site, whereas it is partly protected from massive enzymatic degradation when it is administered associated with nanospheres. ... 

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