Thermoplastic resorbable polymers

Special mention must be made of poly(lactic acid), a biodegradable/bio-resorbable polyester, obtained from renewable resources through fermentation of com starch sugar. This polymer can compete with conventional thermoplastics such as PET for conventional textile fibers or engineering plastics applications. Hie first Dow-Cargill PLA manufacturing facility is scheduled to produce up to 140,000 tons of Nature Works PLA per year beginning in 200245 at an estimated price close to that of other thermoplastic resins U.S. l/kg.46 Other plants are planned to be built in the near future.45... 

The idea of using polymers as binders for particulate bioceramics to prepare biocomposites with improved processing and retention characteristics and to overcome the problem of poor mechanical properties was reported. Poly(rac-lactide) (PDLLA) is a thermoplastic biodegradable, resorbable, and biocompatible aliphatic polyester, which in recent years received significant attention in the biomedical research field. It was also generally viewed as a polymer of the future because... 

Biodegradable polymers made from cyclic esters have received increasing attention as resorbable biomaterials as well as commodity thermoplastics. Although the CAGR amounts to 20-30%, it is still a niche market accounting for around 1% of the synthetic plastics. Among the monomers, lactic acid, either produced by fermentation or chemical processes, gives access to polylactides (Scheme 21.16)... 

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