Abstract
Recognition of the chemical nature of polymers began in the early 1920, when Staudinger concluded from his research on starch, natural rubber and cellulose that these compounds consisted of giant chains of carbon atoms (plus oxygen atoms in the case of the polysaccharides) held together by covalent bonds. “They were truly macromolecules.” This notion was met with disbelief and even ridicule by many of his colleagues. Not until the 1930s, when linear polymers were synthesized, especially by W.H. Carothers in the Du Pont laboratories, did Staudinger’s concept gain universal acceptance. The Nobel Prize in chemistry was finally given to him in 1953.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Brandup J and Immergut EH. Polymer Handbook, A Wiley-Interscience: New York, 1989.
Halpern BD and Tong YC. Medical applications, in Kroschwitz JI, ed. Polymers: Biomaterials and Medical Applications, John Wiley and Sons: New York, 1989.
Cast DG and Ratner BD. Biomedical surface science: Foundations to frontier. Surf Sci, 2002, 500, 28–60.
Migliaresi C and Pegoretti A. Fundamentals of polymeric composite materials, in Barbucci R, ed. Integrated Biomaterials Science, Kluwer Academic: New York, 2002.
El-zaim HS and Heggers JP. Silicones for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications, in Dumitriu S, ed. Polymeric and Biomaterials, 2nd edn, Marcel Dekker, Inc.: New York, 2002.
Cook RR, Harrison MC, and Levier RR. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 1994, 37, 153.
Ebewele RO. Polymer Science and Technology, CRC: Boca Raton, FL, 2000.
Ringdorf H. Macromelecular reviews. J Polym Sci, 1975, 10(1): 1–230.
Heller J. Polyortho esters, in Domb AJ, Kost J, Wiseman DM, eds. Handbook of Biodegradable Polymers, Harwood. Academic: Amsterdam, 1997.
Legrend DG and Bendler T. Handbook of Polycarbonate Science and Technology, Marcel Dekker: New York, 2000.
Domb AJ, Elmalak O, Shastri VR, Ta-Shma Z, Masters DM, Ringer I, Teomin D, Langer R. Biodegradable phosphazenes for biomedical applications, in Domb AJ, Kost J, and Wiseman DM, eds. Handbook of Biodegradable Polymers, Harwood Academic Publishers: Amsterdam, 1997.
Vandorpe J, Schacht E, Dejardin S, and Lemmouchi Y. in Domb AJ, Kost J, and Wiseman DM, eds. Handbook of Biodegradable Polymers, Harwood: Amsterdam, 1997.
Ikada Y. Interfacial biocompatibility, in Shalaby SW, Ikada Y, Langer R, and Williams J, Polymers of biological and biomedical significances, American Chemical Society: Washington DC, 1994.
Williams DF. Biofunctionality and biocompatibility, in Cahn RW, Haasen P, Kramer EJ, eds. Materials Science and Technology, VCH publishings: New York, 1992.
Klee D and Hocker H. Biomedical applications polymer blends. Adv Polym Sci, 1999, 149: 1.
Lyman D. Characterization of biomaterials, in Barbucci R, ed. Integrated biomaterials Science, Kluwer Academic: New York, 2002.
Anderson JM and Kottke-Marchant, K. CRC Critical Reviews in Biocompatibility, 1985, 1: 111–120.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Srichana, T., Domb, A.J. (2009). Polymeric Biomaterials. In: Narayan, R. (eds) Biomedical Materials. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-84872-3_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-84872-3_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-84871-6
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-84872-3
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)