Why degradable polymers undergo surface erosion or bulk erosion

A theoretical model was developed that allows to predict the erosion mechanism of water insoluble biodegradable polymer matrices. The model shows that all degradable polymers can undergo surface erosion or bulk erosion. Which way a polymer matrix erodes after all depends on the diffusivity of water inside the matrix, the degradation rate of the polymer's functional groups and the matrix dimensions. From these parameters the model allows to calculate for an individual polymer matrix a dimensionless 'erosion number' epsilon. The value of epsilon indicates the mode of erosion. Based on epsilon, a critical device dimension L-critical can be calculated. If a matrix is larger than L-critical it will undergo surface erosion, if not it will be bulk eroding. L-critical values for polymers were estimated based on literature data. Polyanhydrides were found to be surface eroding down to a size of approximately L-critical = 10(-4) m while poly(alpha-hydroxy esters) matrices need to be larger than L-critical = 10(-1) m to lose their bulk erosion properties. To support our theoretical findings it was shown experimentally that poly(alpha-hydroxy ester) matrices, which are considered classical bulk eroding materials, can also undergo surface erosion. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.