Poly([R]-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-glycolate): A novel PHB derivative chemically synthesized by copolymerization of a new cyclic diester monomer [R]-4-methyl-1,5-dioxepane-2,6-dione [1]

The synthesis of cyclic diester monomer consisting of [R]-3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) and GA, [R]-4-methyl-1, 5-dioxepane-2, 6-dione([R]-MDP), and its copolymerization with [R]-β-butyrolactone ([R]-βBL) to prepare poly([R]-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-glycolate) (P(3HB-GA)) was discussed. The GA unit whose hydrolyzability was naturally induced in an aqueous environment, increased the nonenzymatic hydrolyzability of the (P(3HB-GA)). The analysis showed that this copolymerization using the monomer [R]-MDP afforded a synthetic route to (P(3HB-GA)) which was not possible to synthesized by bacterial fermentation.