Photopatternable Biodegradable Aliphatic Polyester with Pendent Benzophenone Groups

Highly efficient photo-cross-linking reactions enable numerous applications in biomaterials. Here, a photopatternable biodegradable aliphatic polyester with benzophenone pendent groups was synthesized by copper-catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition, affording polyesters that undergo UV-induced cross-linking to yield photopatterned films. Using this material, a self-folding multilayer structure containing polyester/hydrogel bilayer hinges was fabricated. Upon swelling of the hydrogel layer, the construct folds into a triangular tube, which subsequently unfolds due to lipase-catalyzed degradation of the polyester layer. The ability to precisely design such degradation-induced structural changes offers potential for biomaterials and medical applications, such as evolving and responsive 2D and 3D tissue engineering scaffolds.