Inorganic-organic polymers as a route to biodegradable materials

The polyphosphazene platform allows the design and synthesis of a broad range of different polymers, some of which have special properties as biodegradable materials. Different polyphosphazenes are produced mainly by means of macromolecular substitution reactions carried out on a reactive polymeric intermediate, poly(dichlorophosphazene), (NPCl₂)_n. Organic side groups such as amino acid esters, glucosyl, glyceryl, glycolate, lactate, or imidazolyl sensitize the polymers to hydrolysis to benign materials such as phosphate, ammonia, and the free side unit. Other polymers are of interest as the basis for hydrogels and microencapsulation materials.