PLA as Medical Implants

The degradation of PLA by hydrolytic scission of ester linkages yields lactic acids. Lactic acid is a natural product associated with muscular construction in animals and humans, which can be decomposed by the body s normal metabolic pathways. In the body, lactic acid is converted to pyruvic acid and enters the tricarboxylic acid cycle to yield carbon dioxide and water. Using carbon-labeled PLA, no significant amount of accumulation of degradation products 

Operative Bonding, closure. Vascular and intestinal anastomosis, bone fixation, wound cover, hemostasis, vascular 

Damage healing Scaffold Wound healing, tissue growth, organ reconstruction 

Drug release Capsulation Sustained drug release such as antitumor, growth factors to promote healing, antithrombosis, angiogenesis, anti-infection 

PLA and other poly(a-hydroxyacid)s as well as their copolymers have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and by other regulatory agencies in many countries for implantation in the human body. A number of products are now commercially available and have successfully been used in the medical field. However, despite these successes, some disadvantages of PLA remain to be overcome, which include degradation products and its hydrophobic nature. 

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