ABSTRACT
The design of a biodegradable thermosensitive polymer was inspired by the thermosensitive nature of nonbiodegradable pluronics or poloxamers (PEO-PPO-PEO). The sol$gel transformation of pluronics or poloxamers is exhibited by only a subset of this group of polymers within a specific molecular weight range and hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance (1-4). It was hypothesized that block copolymers based on biodegradable and biocompatible components of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and poly (DL-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG) with a defined molecular weight and hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance would demonstrate a similar sol$gel transformation.
