Biodegradable Copoly(Amino Acid)s Based on 6-Aminocaproic Acid and l-Leucine

Biodegradable copoly(amino acid)s based on 6-aminocaproic acid and l-leucine were prepared by melt condensation polymerization and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry (¹H NMR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The intrinsic viscosity and the density of the copoly(amino acid)s were measured. Thermal properties of the copoly(amino acid)s were performed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results showed that by increasing leucine content of the comonomers, the intrinsic viscosity, melting point, and melting enthalpy of copoly(amino acid)s decrease while the density increases. The enzymatic degradation of the polymers films was tested using papain; results showed that the copoly(amino acid)s are degradable and the enzymatic degradation rate increases with increasing leucine content in the comonomers.