In vitro degradation of polyglycolic acid synthesized by a one-step reaction

Polyglycolic acid was synthesized by a one-step reaction of chloroacetic acid and triethylamine in tetrahydrofuran. The hydrolytic degradation of polyglycolic acid has been investigated. The in vitro degradation was investigated in a saline phosphate buffer. The degradation process was examined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectrum, weight loss, melting point, X-ray powder diffraction, pH, and scanning electron microscopy measurements. The chemical structure of polyglycolic acid has a small change during in vitro degradation. Degradation occurred with an increase in weight loss, a decrease in melting point, an increase in crystallinity during the initial degradation period and then a decrease afterwards. The melting point fell abruptly after the sixth week. This indicates that the degradation degree increased suddenly, i.e., the molecular weight of polyglycolic acid should decrease abruptly. The pH of the buffer solution fell quickly and decreased with time during in vitro degradation. The lower pH indicates that the molecular weight of polyglycolic acid synthesized by a one-step reaction should be low, and this may enable polyglycolic acid to degrade easily. As the degradation time increased, the surfaces of polyglycolic acid samples were highly degraded, and the surface porosity increased.