Abstract
Poly (α-hydroxyacids) were found to be bioabsorble and biocompatible in the 1960s (1,2). They are the most widely known, studied and used bioabsorbable synthetic polymers in medicine. Polyglycolide (PGA) and poly-l-lactide (PLLA) homopolymers and their copolymers (PLGA), as well as polylactic acid stereocopolymers produced using l-, d-, or DL-lactides and rasemic polymer copolymer PLDLA are all poly (α-hydroxyacids) (3). Poly (α-hydroxy acids) can be polymerized via condensation, although only low mol-wt polymers are produced. In order to obtain a higher mol wt and thus mechanical strength and longer absorption time, the polymers are polymerized from the cyclic dimers via ring-opening polymerization using appropriate initiators and co-initiators. The most commonly used initiator is stannous octoate (2,3).
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Kellomäki, M., Törmälä, P. (2004). Processing of Resorbable Poly-α-Hydroxy Acids for Use as Tissue-Engineering Scaffolds. In: Hollander, A.P., Hatton, P.V. (eds) Biopolymer Methods in Tissue Engineering. Methods in Molecular Biology™, vol 238. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-428-X:1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-428-X:1
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