Difference Between PLA and PLGA

Thekey difference在PLA和PLGA之间PLA是聚乳酸，通过缩合reaction oflactic acid，而PLGA是聚（乳酸 - 乙醇酸），它是通过共聚的乙醇酸和乳酸。

Both PLA and PLGA are polymer substances having athermoplasticnature. However, they are different from each other because PLA is made from a single monomer while PGLA is made from two different monomers.

内容

1.Overview and Key Difference
2.What is PLA
3.What is PLGA
4.Side by Side Comparison – PLA vs PLGA in Tabular Form
5。概括

什么是PLA？

PLA一词代表聚乳酸. It is a thermoplastic polymer we can classify as a polyester. The backbone formula of this polymer material is (C3H4O2)n. We can synthesize this polymer through a condensation reaction. The monomer used for this synthesis is lactic acid. During the condensation reaction of lactic acid, a water molecule is formed and released. Also, we can prepare this PLA polymer via ring-opening polymerization of lactide. Lactide is a cyclic dimer of the basic repeating unit, lactic acid.

PLA is a common polymer material because it is produced economically from renewable resources. It has the second most consumption among bioplastics. However, it is not used as a commodity polymer. The numerous applications of PLA have been hindered by some of its physical and processing drawbacks, but it is the most used plastic filament material in 3D printing applications.

When considering the production of PLA, we can get the monomer lactic acid from fermented plant starch; e.g. corn starch, cassava starch, sugarcane, sugar beet pulp, etc. The most common route for the production of PLA is ring-opening polymerization of lactide in the presence of metal catalysts in a solution or a suspension.

Lactic acid is a chiral compound. Therefore, if this polymer is produced from L,L-lactide, then the resulting polymer is PLLA (poly-L-lactide). We can observe that PLA is soluble in organic solvents such as benzene (hot solvent), tetrahydrofuran, dioxane, etc. When considering the mechanical properties of PLA, it can range from amorphous glassy polymer to semi-crystalline polymer. Sometimes, there are even highly crystalline polymers.

What is PLGA?

术语PLGA代表聚（乳酸 - 乙醇酸）酸。它是通过两个不同单体的共聚物共聚的共聚物：乙醇酸和乳酸。我们可以将这些聚合物合成为随机聚合物或块共聚物。此外，该产量需要催化剂，例如锡（II）2-乙基己酸盐。在这种共聚的过程中，单体单元倾向于通过酯键相互联系，从而产生线性的脂肪族聚酯聚合物材料。

Furthermore, it is possible to obtain different forms of PLGA when we use different amounts of monomer compounds. These different forms are defined based on the molar ratio of the monomers used for the polymerization process. In addition to these, PLGA can vary from fully amorphous to fully crystalline structures based on the block structure and the molar ratio of the polymer.

When considering the degradation of PLGA, it degrades via hydrolysis of its ester linkages in the presence of water. The time that is required for the degradation of PLGA depends on the monomer ratio that is used on its production.

PLA和PLGA有什么区别？

PLA and PGLA are thermoplastic polymer materials. The key difference between PLA and PLGA is that PLA is polylactic acid which is synthesized via condensation reaction of lactic acid whereas PLGA is poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) which is synthesized via copolymerization of glycolic acid and lactic acid.

下面的信息图表列出了PLA和PLGA之间的差异。

概括– PLA vs PLGA

PLA一词代表聚乳酸while the term PLGA stands for poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid. The key difference between PLA and PLGA is that PLA is polylactic acid which is synthesized via condensation reaction of lactic acid whereas PGLA is poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) which is synthesized via copolymerization of glycolic acid and lactic acid.

Reference:

1.“ PLGA。”维基百科, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Apr. 2020,Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Polylactid sceletal” By Polimerek – Own work (Public Domain) viaCommons Wikimedia
2. “PLGA” By Fvasconcellos (talk · contribs) – Vector version of w:Image:PLGA.jpg (Public Domain) viaCommons Wikimedia