Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
PLGA Poly(lactide-
co
-glycolide)
PLLA Poly(
L
-lactide)
PMA Poly(malic acid)
PMPC Poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine)
PNIPAAm Poly(
N
-isopropylacrylamide)
pPRX
Pseudopolyrotaxane
PRX
Polyrotaxane
PS
Polystyrene
PTMC
Poly(trimethylene carbonate)
PTX
Paclitaxel
PVA
Poly(vinyl alcohol)
RES
Reticuloendothelial system
RGD
Arginine-glycine-aspartic acid
ROP
Ring-opening polymerization
SC
Stereocomplex
Ser
Serine
siRNA
Small interfering RNA
SMP
Shape-memory polymers
TCA
Tricarboxylic acid
T
g
Glass transition temperature
THF
Tetrahydrofuran
Thr
Threonine
T
m
Melting temperature
TMC
Trimethylene carbonate
TMS
Trimethylsilyl
Tyr
Tyrosine
w/o/w
Water in oil in water
1
Introduction
In biomedical fields, biodegradable polymers can be defined as polymers that would
be degraded into low molecular weight compounds under physiological conditions
or in the body within a significantly shorter period than a (usually human) lifetime.
The importance of biodegradable polymers has increased more and more in bio-
medical fields [
1
-
19
] because biodegradable polymers can provide the following
advantages compared with nondegradable polymers: (1) It is not necessary to
remove the polymers from the body after their roles have been achieved. (2) The
low molecular weight degradation products are expected to be metabolized or
excreted, and not to cause long-term toxicity. (3) Degradation itself can offer some
significant functions, for example, sustained release of drugs from biodegradable
matrices can be achieved by degradation-dependent release mechanisms.
Biodegradable polymers can be categorized into natural and synthetic
polymers. The typical examples of natural biodegradable polymers are proteins,
