Mechanism and rate of degradation of polyhydroxyoctanoate films in aqueous media: A long-term in vitro study.
The present study investigated the in vitro mechanism and degradation rate of polyhydroxyoctanoate (PHO). Solution-cast PHO films were incubated in either water or isoosmotic phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) for periods ranging from 1 to 24 months. Physical characterization included weight loss, water absorption, pH change, tensile strength, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies. Analytical investigations including electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide-angle X-ray diffraction, and size exclusion chromatography were also performed to assess chemical and morphological changes to the structure of the PHO. The results show that the PHO-cast films incubated in either water or isoosmotic PBS underwent a simple hydrolytic degradation process characterized by water absorption, gradual molecular weight decrease, and negligible mass loss after 24 months of incubation. DSC results suggest that degradation occurred in the amorphous zone, followed by an attack in the crystalline domain. An increase in the vibration stretching of OH after 24 months of incubation, as revealed by FTIR, may indicate that the degradation process began internally, moving outwardly toward the surface of the PHO films. This process was more rapid in the films incubated in PBS than in those incubated in water. However, no significant changes in the morphology of the films were detected by SEM. This study demonstrated that the in vitro degradation of PHO in water or in PBS is a very slow hydrolytic process, exceeding 2 years. Our findings also suggest that the internal degradation mechanism is faster in PBS because of the ionic strength of the medium and that this internal process surface moves gradually toward the surface.