Lactide

Lactide dimer is an important monomer produced from lactic acid dehydration, followed by the prepolymer depolymerization process, and subsequent purification. As lactic acid is a chiral molecule, lactide can exist in three isomeric forms: L-, D-, and meso-lactide. Due to its time-consuming synthesis and the need for strict temperature and pressure control, catalyst use, low selectivity, high energy cost, and racemization, the value of a high purity lactide has a high cost in the market; moreover, little is found in scientific articles about the monomer synthesis. Lactide use is mainly for the synthesis of high molar mass poly(lactic acid) (PLA), applied as bio-based material for medical applications (e.g., prostheses and membranes), drug delivery, and hydrogels, or combined with other polymers for applications in packaging. This review elucidates the configurations and conditions of syntheses mapped for lactide production, the main properties of each of the isomeric forms, its indus...

The reactivity of two dinuclear SalBinam indium compounds for the ring-opening
polymerization of lactide was investigated. Examination of the polymerization behavior of
two complexes and the reaction equilibrium between the two illustrates the importance of
aggregation in indium salen complexes compared to their aluminum counterparts.

Despite the small difference in the steric hindrance of the substitutes of the asymmetric carbon of the lactic acid, a way for the desymmetrization of the racemic mixture was discovered. Two possibilities have arisen: the synthesis and further separation of diastereoisomers with the (S)-2-methyl-1-butanol as chiral auxiliary and the kinetic discrimination during the esterification with the (R)-(-)-Myrtenol.