Bioabsorbable polymers types

MAJOR TYPES OF BIOABSORBABLE POLYMERS AND POSSIBLE MODES OF BIOABSORPTION... 

As demonstrated in this chapter, a variety of bioabsorbable polymers, both natural and synthetic, have been investigated as surgical materials and devices. Sutures have the largest market share among the synthetic bioabsorbable polymer used in medicine. Since different types of monofilament and multifilament sutures with... 

Poly(4-hydroxybutyrate) [P(4HB)] is a highly ductile, flexible polymer withstanding an extension of around 1,(XX)% before breaking, compared to P(3HB), which can only extend to less than 10% before breaking. Combining these different monomers to form copolymers, as in P(3HB-co-4HB), been described as one of the most useful PHAs by Sudesh et al. [5], produces a family of materials with mechanical properties that can be tailored to specific needs. P(3HB-co-4HB) has been found to have desirable mechanical properties for applications in the medical and pharmaceutical field [11]. The biocompatibility and bioabsorbable nature of P(3HB-co-4HB) makes it the most valuable type of biopolymer among the vast number of different PHAs synthesized by microorganisms. To date, five wild-type bacteria, which can produce P(3HB-co HB), i.e. R. eutropha... 

In the field of biomedical devices, bioresorbable polymers can be used for several purposes. Suture threads represent an established example of a bioabsorbable device. They were introduced for the first time during the early 1970s. They were first made of poly(glycolic acid). Threads made of poly (lactic acid) and polydioxanone appeared later in 1981. Currently there is a wide variety of types of commercial suture thread (monofilament or polyfilament) depending on requirements such as degradation time and mechanical behavior. 

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