Abstract
Polymers belonging to the family of polylactic acid (PLA) and polyglycolic acid (PGA) play an important role in the field of tissue engineering related to orthopaedics. These polymers degrade by hydrolysis and have a range of mechanical and physical properties. Their degradation characteristics depend on several parameters including their molecular structure, crystallinity, and copolymer ratio. Such polymers can be fashioned into porous scaffolds using a variety of techniques which have been described in this review paper. Although their future appears to be bright, several questions regarding the biocompatibility of these materials linger and have to be answered before their wide scale use.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 115-128 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Materials Science Forum |
| Volume | 250 |
| State | Published - 1997 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Degradation
- Fabrication
- Polyglycolic Acid
- Polylactic Acid
- Porous
- Scaffolds
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Materials Science(all)