Synthesis and structure–property relationship of polyester-urethanes and their evaluation for the regeneration of contractile tissues

The structure–property relationship of degradable polyurethanes from non toxic building blocks wasstudied by synthesising four different biodegradable poly(ester urethanes) from poly(e-caprolactone)(PCL) diol, 1,4-diisocyanatobutane and different chain extenders. For instance, the chain extenders werean amino acid derivative diamine, an amino acid derivative diol, a cyclic diol and a custom made diamine,containing an enzymatically degradable peptide (Ala–Ala sequence). Physicochemical and morphologicalcharacterisation (SEC, DSC, DMA, AFM) was performed, showing the influence of the chain extender onthe polyurethane properties. A correlation between surface domain morphologies and thermal propertieswas highlighted and a relationship between the biological response and surface morphologies wasobserved. Collecting mechanical characterisation and myoblast cell culture results together, the polyurethanesynthesised with the amino acid derivative diamine resulted the most promising candidate for fabricatingscaffolds supporting the regeneration of muscle tissues.