The medicines/drugs taken for treatment of different ailments are taken orally in form of suspensions , tablets or capsules. To have maximum effect of the medicine at the desired site in the body , capsules are used. Earlier these capsules were made up of starch which used to get hydrolysed partly in the mouth and largely almost immediately in the stomach. But these days, the capsules are made up of some biodegradable polymer which slowly gets hydrolysed to have the effect of the drug for a longer period. Now answer the following questions : (i) Write the name of the biodegradable polymer used for making capules. (ii) What are the monomer units of this polymer ? (iii) Why does it produce desired therapeutic effect slowly ? (iv) What are the degradation products of this polymer ?

The medicines/drugs taken for treatment of different ailments are take

1.	The medicines/drugs taken for treatment of different ailments are taken orally in form of suspensions , tablets or capsules. To have maximum effect of the medicine at the desired site in the body , capsules are used. Earlier these capsules were made up of starch which used to get hydrolysed partly in the mouth and largely almost immediately in the stomach. But these days, the capsules are made up of some biodegradable polymer which slowly gets hydrolysed to have the effect of the drug for a longer period. Now answer the following questions : (i) Write the name of the biodegradable polymer used for making capules. (ii) What are the monomer units of this polymer ? (iii) Why does it produce desired therapeutic effect slowly ? (iv) What are the degradation products of this polymer ?
Answer» Solution :(i) The name of the biodegradable polymeris : poly-`beta`- hydroxybutyrate -co-`beta`-hydroxyvalerate (PHBV). (ii) The monomer units are : `underset(3-"Hydroxybutanoic acid")underset(CH_3)underset(\|)(HO-CH-CH_(2))COOH` `underset(3-"Hydroxybutanoic acid")underset(CH_2CH_3)underset(\|)(HO-CH-CH_(2))COOH` (iii) The polymer contains ester bonds which are hydrolysed SLOWLY by the acid present in the stomach. The HYDROLYSIS products are the MONOMERS which are oxidised in the blood to form , `CO_2` and `H_2O`.