Degradable polymeric nanostructures based upon polycarbonates, polyesters and polyanhydrides are widely utilized in the design of polymeric materials for biomedical applications. Upon hydrolytic degradation these materials form potentially toxic, inflammatory and corrosive degradation products. To develop the next generation of polymeric biomaterials we aim to design monomers which can form materials based upon nature's building and energy storage materials, cellulose and starch. The result is a new bioresorbable polycarbonate designed from a natural product based cyclic carbonate monomer of ?-glucose which undergoes degradation to the ?-glucose starting material and CO2. This polycarbonate has been utilized to design novel block copolymers with applications ranging from nanomedicine to biomedical engineering of implantable materials. The ability to control the chemical functionality of these polymers through thiolene and thiolyne click chemistry has lent itself to the development of shell crosslinked knedel-like (SCK) nanoparticles which are being utilized in the design of theranostic agents for treatment of acute lung injury and cancer.

New generation of polycarbonate biomaterials from cyclic carbonate monomers of glucose

245th National Meeting (2013)

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