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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 May 5.
Published in final edited form as: Biomaterials. 2008 Dec 19;30(8):1657–1664. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2008.12.002

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Calculation of critical length using a second order rate expression as a function of both the initial molecular weight of polymer and hydrolysis rate constant. A) Critical length (point 2) was calculated as the matrix size (dashed line) in which the average molecular weight of polymer at the degradation front (solid line) decreases most rapidly (point 1), indicating the onset of bulk erosion. B) Values for critical length as a function of initial molecular weight for a variety of polymer matrices: PLA (diamond), 50:50 PLGA (square), 50:50 PFAD:SA (triangle) and PSA (cross).