Biomedical synthetic polymer composites

S. Watanabe, Y. Shimizu, T. Teramatsu, T Murachi, T Hino, The in vitro and in vivo behavior of urokinase immobilized onto collagen-synthetic polymer composite material. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research 15 (4) (1981) 553-563. 

Needless to mention, many types of the usual synthetic polymer composites are in use for decades now as matrices for several kinds of biomedical composite materials. Before the authors elaborate the progress made in the last decade with the conventional composites, for example, fiber-reinforced implants, they would... 

Fiber-reinforced composites contain strong fibers embedded in a continuous phase. They form the basis of many of the advanced and space-age products. They are important because they offer strength without weight and good resistance to weathering. Typical fibers are fiberous glass, carbon-based, aromatic nylons, and polyolefins. Typical resins are polyimides, polyesters, epoxys, PF, and many synthetic polymers. Applications include biomedical, boating, aerospace and outer space, sports, automotive, and industry. 

Finally, collagen can form a variety of collagen composites with other water-soluble materials. Ions, peptides, proteins, and polysaccharides can all be uniformly incorporated into a collagen matrix. The methods of composite formation include ionic and covalent bonding, entrapment, entanglement, and co-precipitation. A two-phase composite can be formed between collagen, ceramics, and synthetic polymers for specific biomedical applications. 

Biocomposites usefulness is no longer in question and more and more reports are focused on applicative aspects in the environment, packaging, agriculture devices, biomedical fields, etc. Moreover, because industrials were concerned about sustainable developments and a controlled end of life, production cost of biopolymers goes on decreasing which will allow strong developments of biopolymer-based materials. Therefore, these materials will be technically and financially competitive towards synthetic polymer-based composites. Then, this class of material opens a new dimension for plastic industry for a better sustainable development. 

In the high-tech microelectronics area, many opportunities exist for developing new or improved polymers for dielectrics, plasma etch resistance barriers, lithographic resists, insulators/connectors, liquid crystal systems, etc, where, simultaneously, adhesion to various surfaces, water permeability, temperature stability and other properties must not be limiting. Polymers for biomedical, separations, and composites likewise, provide great opportunity for synthetic advances. There is no doubt in our mind, an enormous amount of innovation can continue to flow out of polymer synthesis research. 

To achieve specific properties not possessed by single-phase materials, it is possible to design composites combining polymers, ceramics, and metals to obtain tailor-made devices for applications in various biomedical fields. In particular, synthetic polymeric composites are very attractive biomaterials because of their similarities with most of the stmcmral living tissues, composed of macromolecular composites. 

R. Bhatnagar, A.R. Ray, Composites of collagen with synthetic polymers for biomedical applications, in M. Szycher, ed., High Performance Biomaterials, Technomic Pubhshing, Lancaster, OH, pp. 179-184,1991. 

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