International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

Prague (Czech Republic)

Contents
Preface F. Rypecek, S. Penczek, J. Kahovec
Biodegradation of LDPE/cellulose blends by common fungi	1
C. J. Foust, R. R. Mills, T. Haas, C. Castevens, R. M. Ottenbrite*
Biodegradation of poly(amino acid)s: evaluation methods and structure-to-function relationships	9
F. Ryp�cek*, J. Pytela, R. Kotva, V. Skarda, I. C�fkov�
Biodegradable synthetic and semisynthetic polymers	25
E. Chiellini*, S. D�Antone, R. Solaro
Microspheres by dispersion polymerization of lactides and -caprolactone	45
S. Slomkowski*, S. Sosnowski, M. Gadzinowski
Biosynthetic and biodegradable polyesters from renewable resources: current state and prospects	61
A. Steinbichel*, V. Gorenflo
Bulk polymerization of lactides initiated by aluminum isopropoxide. I. Mechanism and kinetics	67
P. Deg�e, P. Dubois*, R. J�r�me
Atomic force microscopy and enzymatic degradation of oyster shell protein and poly(aspartate)	85
C. S. Sikes*, F. Martin, A. Wierzbicki, A. P. Wheeler
Quantitative comparison of selectivities in the polymerization of cyclic esters	93
J. Baran, A. Duda*, A. Kowalski, R. Szymanski, S. Penczek
Biodegradable polyphosphazenes for drug delivery	103
Y. Lemmouchi, E. Schacht*, S. Dejardin, J. Vandorpe, L. Seymour
Thermoplastic starch revisited. Structure/property relationship for "dialed-in" biodegradability	113
R. J. Zdrahala
Ultrahigh-strength self-reinforced polylactide composites and their surgical applications	123
P. T�rm�l�*, T. Pohjonen, P. Rokkanen
Novel biodegradable ester-based polymer blends	133
B. J. Tighe*, A. J. Amass, M. Yasin
Polylactides --> degradable polymers for fibres and films	147
K. Meinander, M. Niemi, J. S. Hakola, J.-F. Selin*
Processing and in vitro degradation of poly(L-lactic acid) fibres	155
C. Migliaresi, L. Fambri*
Molecular designing of biodegradable copolypeptide membranes	163
T. Hayashi, M. Oka, Y. Miyachi
Microbial aspects of the degradation of water-soluble synthetic polymers	177
F. Kawai
Evaluation of biodegradable hydrogels for colon-specific drug delivery	189
L. Hovgaard*, H. Brøndsted
Design and development of biodegradable polymeric poly(carboxylic acids) as co-builders for detergents	195
G. Swift*, M. B. Freeman, Y. H. Paik, E. Simon, S. Wolk, K. M. Yocom
Environmental aspects of photodegradable plastics	209
J. Guillet
Polymer-drug conjugates: manipulation of drug delivery kinetics	225
D. G. Pitt*, J. Wertheim, C. T. Wang, S. S. Shah
New catalytic systems for the maufacture of poly(aspartic acid)	235
R. J. Ross*, D. A. Batzel, A. R. Meah, J. F. Kneller