Table 5.
Properties of polymers used for bioengineered substrates
| Polymer | Biological Activity | Biodegradation Rate (Months) | Biomechanical properties | Area of application |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGA | Inert: anticoagulant, antiviral & plasma cleaning | 6 to12 | Compressive and flexible Tensile strength 339-394 MPa | Tissue engineering in orthopedics |
| PLLA | Inert: improvement of tensile & suture, injectable form | >24 | Tensile modulus 1.2-16 GPa | Orthopedic & HIV infection |
| PLDLA | Inert: stimulate regeneration of the whole meniscus | 12 to 16 | Tensile modulus 1.9-2.4 GPa | Orthopedic |
| PCL | Inert: bone & cartilage repair | >24 | Compressive & modulable Tensile modulus up to 340-360 MPa | Suture coating, dental & orthopedic implants |
| PEU | Inert: bio-and blood-compatible materials | 1-2 | Tunable: 5-40 MPa | Cardiovascular devices, artificial organs, tissue replacement, & in vivo restoration of body joints |
| HA | Inert: angiogenesis, vehicle for osteogenesis, osteoconductive | 1-2 | Tensile strength 40-100 MPa Bend strength 20-80 MPa Compressive strength 100-900 MPa | Bone graft |
| PLGA | Inert: delivery of small molecule drugs, proteins and other macromolecules in commercial and research applications | 1-12 | Compressive & strength Highly tunable | Drug delivery carrier As scaffolds for tissue engineering |
| PLGA-Collagen | Active: transdermal delivery | 1-12 | Compressive & strength | Skin tissue engineering, bone substitutes, & artificial blood vessels and valves |
| Collagen | Active: nanoparticles for gene delivery and basic matrices for cell culture systems | Hours | Elastic modulus of native fibrils around 9 GPa | Gel formulation with liposomes for sustained drug delivery. |
Abbreviations: PGA, polyglycolide; PLLA, polylactide; PLDLA, Poly-L/D-lactide; PCL, Polycaprolactone; PEU, Polyesterurethanes; HA, hyaluronic acid; PLGA, poly lactic-co-glycolic acid