Biopolyesters in Tissue Engineering Applications - Advances in Polymer Science - page 1

Biopolyesters in Tissue Engineering Applications

Thomas Freier
Smart Biotech Inc., 243 Eglinton Ave. West, Suite 300, Toronto, ON M4R 1B1, Canada
[e-mail]

1 I tr cti n ................................... 3

2 Biopolyesters and Their Potential in Regenerative Medicine ........ 4

3 Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)

and Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate- co -3-hydroxyvalerate) ............. 7

3.1 MechanicalProperties.............................. 7

3.2 Biocompatibility................................. 10

3.3 Biodegradability................................. 20

3.4 ApplicationsinTissueEngineering ...................... 29

4 Poly(4-hydroxybutyrate)

and Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate- co -4-hydroxybutyrate)

............. 33

4.1 MechanicalProperties.............................. 34

4.2 Biocompatibility................................. 35

4.3 Biodegradability................................. 37

4.4 ApplicationsinTissueEngineering ...................... 40

5 Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate- co -3-hydroxyhexanoate) ............... 44

5.1 MechanicalProperties.............................. 44

5.2 Biocompatibility................................. 45

5.3 Biodegradability................................. 46

5.4 ApplicationsinTissueEngineering ...................... 47

6 Poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate- co -3-hydroxyhexanoate) .............. 48

6.1 MechanicalProperties.............................. 48

6.2 Biocompatibility................................. 49

6.3 Biodegradability................................. 50

6.4 ApplicationsinTissueEngineering ...................... 51

7 tl k ..................................... 52

References ....................................... 53

Abstract Tissue engineering is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary field of research fo-
cused on the development of vital autologous tissue through the use of a combination
of biomaterials, cells, and bioactive molecules, for the purposes of repairing damaged
or diseased tissue and organs. Due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability, as
well as their broad range of mechanical properties, natural polyesters from the group
of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) have emerged as promising materials for various tis-
sue engineering applications, including cardiovascular system, nerve, bone, and carti-
lage repair applications. Thus far, the majority of research on medical applications of