Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Utilization of polymers as biomaterials has greatly impacted the advancement of modern medicine. Specifically, polymeric biomaterials that are biodegradable provide the significant advantage of being able to be broken down and removed after they have served their function. Applications are wide ranging with degradable polymers being used clinically as surgical sutures and implants. In order to fit functional demand, materials with desired physical, chemical, biological, biomechanical and degradation properties must be selected.
Fortunately, a wide range of natural and synthetic degradable polymers has been investigated for biomedical applications with novel materials constantly being developed to meet new challenges. This review summarizes the most recent advances in the field over the past 4 years, specifically highlighting new and interesting discoveries in tissue engineering and drug delivery applications. A biomaterial is defined as any natural or synthetic substance engineered to interact with biological systems in order to direct medical treatment.
Polymers possess significant potential since flexibility in chemistry gives rise to materials with great physical and mechanical property diversity. Degradable polymers are of utmost interest since these biomaterials are able to be broken down and excreted or resorbed without removal or surgical revision.
While natural polymers like collagen have been used biomedically for thousands of years, research into biomedical applications of synthetic degradable polymers is relatively new, starting in the s.
From a basic science perspective, the capacity to modulate biomaterial chemistry to convey unique material properties is endless yet requires significant time and resources to complete the research. As biomaterials are applied in the clinical setting, numerous issues arise that cannot be adequately identified and addressed in previous in vitro and model in vivo experiments. The host response to both tissue engineering and drug delivery devices depends on the chemical, physical and biological properties of the biomaterials.
