{"id":36617,"date":"2026-04-06T09:51:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T04:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/?p=36617"},"modified":"2026-04-06T09:51:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T04:06:37","slug":"osaka-scientists-develop-degradable-polymer-with-potential-medical-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/osaka-scientists-develop-degradable-polymer-with-potential-medical-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Osaka scientists develop degradable polymer with potential medical use"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Shelf stable polymer chains with side structures: Novel PDTL monomer allows amine compounds to stably bind to poly(disulfide)s and impart various functionalities.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

TOKYO, April 6 \u2013<\/strong> Plastic\u2019s durability and versatility, once hailed as revolutionary, have turned into a global environmental challenge, prompting researchers to seek degradable alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A team led by Associate Professor Yukiya Kitayama at Osaka Metropolitan University has developed a new monomer, N-(2-oxotetrahydrothiophen-3-yl)-3-(pyridin-2-yldisulfanyl) propanamide (PDTL), that enables the synthesis of poly(disulfide)s with customizable side-chain structures. The method combines amine compounds with PDTL through a domino polymerization process, allowing chains to extend via thiolactone ring-opening followed by disulfide formation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because amine compounds are inexpensive and widely available, simply changing the amine used introduces different structures into the side chains, giving the polymers both degradability and functional versatility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tests confirmed the formation of target poly(disulfide)s using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, and mass spectrometry. The polymers degraded when exposed to reducing agents such as phosphine-based compounds, zinc, and dithiothreitol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The system works with primary and secondary amines as well as ammonia, and mixing multiple amines allows for copolymers with diverse side-chain functionalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPoly(disulfide) is a polymer that degrades not only in reducing environments such as the seafloor but also within cellular reducing environments. Therefore, it shows promise as a carrier in drug delivery systems,\u201d Kitayama said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team plans further evaluation of mechanical and thermal properties, including tensile strength, flexibility, and heat resistance, and will study degradation rates under complex conditions such as ocean and biological environments. Researchers also aim to assess the environmental and biological safety of the degraded products.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TOKYO, April 6 \u2013 Plastic\u2019s durability and versatility, once hailed as revolutionary, have turned into a global environmental challenge, prompting researchers to seek degradable alternatives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[122,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chemistry","category-research"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cover_kitayama_resize.webp",1100,825,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cover_kitayama_resize-200x200.webp",200,200,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cover_kitayama_resize-675x506.webp",675,506,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cover_kitayama_resize-768x576.webp",750,563,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cover_kitayama_resize.webp",750,563,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cover_kitayama_resize.webp",1100,825,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cover_kitayama_resize.webp",1100,825,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cover_kitayama_resize-1100x800.webp",1100,800,true],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cover_kitayama_resize-870x570.webp",870,570,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cover_kitayama_resize-600x825.webp",600,825,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cover_kitayama_resize-600x600.webp",600,600,true],"newspaper-x-single-post":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cover_kitayama_resize-760x490.webp",760,490,true],"newspaper-x-recent-post-big":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cover_kitayama_resize-550x360.webp",550,360,true],"newspaper-x-recent-post-list-image":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cover_kitayama_resize-95x65.webp",95,65,true],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cover_kitayama_resize-640x825.webp",640,825,true],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cover_kitayama_resize-96x96.webp",96,96,true],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cover_kitayama_resize-150x113.webp",150,113,true]},"author_info":{"info":["RevoScience"]},"category_info":"Chemistry<\/a> Research<\/a>","tag_info":"Research","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36617"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36619,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36617\/revisions\/36619"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}