ABSTRACT

A. P. BONARTSEV, A. P. BOSKHOMODGIEV, A. L. IORDANSKII, G. A. BONARTSEVA, A. V. REBROV, T. K. MAKHINA, V. L. MYSHKINA, S. A. YAKOVLEV, E. A. FILATOVA, E. A. IVANOV, D. V. BAGROV, G. E. ZAIKOV, and M. I. ARTSIS

5.1 Introduction .................................................................................... 58 5.2 Experimental Part ........................................................................... 59 5.3 Results and Discussion .................................................................. 62 5.4 Conclusion ..................................................................................... 71 Keywords ................................................................................................ 72 References ............................................................................................... 73

5.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter is designed to be an informative source for biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and its derivatives’ research. We focuses on hydrolytic degradation kinetics at 37 °C and 70 °C in phosphate buffer to compare PLA and PHB kinetic profiles. Besides, we reveal the kinetic behavior for copolymer PHBV (20% of 3-hydroxyvalerate) and the blend PHB-PLA. The intensity of biopolymer hydrolysis characterized by total weight lost and the viscosity-averaged molecular weight (MW) decrement. The degradation is enhanced in the series PHBV < PHB < PHBPLA blend < PLA. Characterization of PHB and PHBV includes MW and crystallinity evolution (X-ray diffraction) as well as AFM analysis of PHB film surfaces before and after aggressive medium exposition. The important impact of MW on the biopolymer hydrolysis is shown.