Biodegradable photoluminescent polymers

Abstract

In one aspect, the present invention describes biodegradable photoluminescent polymer (BPLP) compositions. In some embodiments, an aliphatic biodegradable photoluminescent polymer (BPLP) composition comprises a degradable oligomer, wherein the oligomer is synthesized from a diol, an amino acid, and a biocompatible multifunctional carboxylic acid comprising a hydroxyl group. The amino acid is linked as a side group to the degradable oligomer backbone, and fluorescence emanates from a 6-membered ring formed by a carboxylic acid group of the amino acid, an alpha carbon of the amino acid, an amide linkage formed by an amino group of the amino acid, and a central carbon of the multifunctional carboxylic acid via an esterification reaction of the carboxylic acid group of the amino acid and the hydroxyl group of the multifunctional carboxylic acid.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.