Poly(caprolactone)-diacrylate (PCL-DA) has been used previously to prepare scaffolds for tissue engineering but is limited to bone tissue due to its relatively high modulus, owing to its semi-crystalline structure. A derivative of PCL, poly(4-methylcaprolactone) (P4MCL) has been used to prepare elastomeric materials that could potentially be used in a variety of soft tissue applications; however, its high production cost restricts widespread use. Herein, we prepared a 90:10 (by mol) copolymer of PCL and P4MCL by ring opening transesterification polymerization (ROTEP) targeting a number-average molar mass (Mn = 10 kg/mol), as confirmed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy. The resultant copolymer was end functionalized to yield photocrosslinkable PCL90-co-P4MCL10-diacrylate (PCL90-co-P4MCL10-DA), and films were prepared by UV-curing with 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophene (DMPA) as the photoinitiator. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results show that this minimal incorporation of 10% by mol. P4MCL significantly reduces PCL semi-crystallinity, particularly in the UV-crosslinked films. Ongoing work will evaluate mechanical properties, hydrolytic degradation behavior, and cytocompatibility. This approach demonstrates a cost-effective copolymer design strategy to tune the thermal and mechanical properties of degradable polyester networks, potentially broadening the applicability of PCL-based scaffolds in tissue engineering.
