Poly /polylactide biodegradability

Arimura H, Ohya Y, Ouchi T (2005) Formation of core-shell type biodegradable polymeric micelles from amphiphilic poly(aspartic acid)-Wock-polylactide diblock copolymer. Biomacromolecules 6 720-725... 

Plackett D, Andersen TL, Pedersen WB, Nielsen L (2003) Biodegradable composites based on L-polylactide and jute fibres. Compos Sci Technol 63(9) 1287-1296 Sebastien F, Stephane G, Copinet A, Coma V (2006) Novel biodegradable films made from chitosan and poly(lactic acid) with antifungal properties against mycotoxinogen strains. Carbohydr Polym 65(2) 185-193... 

At the time of writing, the applications of biodegradable polymers are confined mostly to the field of agriculture, where they are used in products with limited lifetimes, such as mulch films and pellets for the controlled release of herbicides. The synthetic polyesters used in medical applications, principally polylactide and poly(lactide-co-glycolide), while claimed to be biodegradable, are degraded in the body mainly, if not entirely, by chemical hydrolysis. There is little evidence that the hydrolysis of these polyesters of a-hydroxyacids can be catalyzed by hydrolase or depolymerase enzymes. 

The above mentioned scaffolds were made completely of the ceramic materials. Other potential materials which could be used to fabricate a novel construct for the repair of ciitical-sized bone defects is a novel material made of biodegradable polymer reinforced with ceramics particles. The properties of such a composite depend on 1) properties of the polymer used for the matrix and properties of the ceramics used for the reinforcement, 2) composition of the composite (i.e. content of ceramic particles) and 3) size, shape and arrangement of the particles in the matrix. Several polymer-composite composites have been used for scaffolds fabrication including polylactide (PLA) and polycaprolacton (PCL) reinforced with calcium phosphate (CaP) micro and nanoparticles. Authors proposed a novel composite material by blending copolymer -Poly(L-lactide-co-D,E-lactide) (PLDLLA) a copolymer with a ceramic - Tri-Calcium Phosphate... 

PLA is known both as poly(lactic acid) and as polylactide. It is currently the most used packaging plastic that is both biodegradable and biobased. PLA is a member of the polyester family, and is chemically synthesized from lactic acid that is derived from starch by fermentation. PLA has the following structure ... 

Yang, L., Wu, X., Liu, F., Duan, Y., Li, S., 2009. Novel biodegradable polylactide/poly (ethylene glycol) micelles prepared by direct dissolution method for controlled delivery of anticancer drugs. Pharmaceutical Research 26, 2332—2342. 

The use of lipids, including lipid-protein membranes, concentric lipid manbranes, and submicron ultrathin lipid membranes is another common approach. Biodegradable synthetic polymers offer another approach. The first one used was polylactide. Many types of polylactides and poly-glycolic acids are now used for artificial cells. Other synthetic biodegradable polymers, such as polyanhydride, also are used. The use of biodegradable artificial cells has become an active field. 

Liao, H., Wu, C. New biodegradable blends prepared from polylactide, titanium tetraisopropylate, and starch. J Appl. Poly. Sci. 108, 2280-2289 (2008)... 

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