Abstract
Polylactic acid (PLA)—based polymers are ubiquitous in the biomedical field thanks to their combination of attractive peculiarities: biocompatibility (degradation products do not elicit critical responses and are easily metabolized by the body), hydrolytic degradation in situ, tailorable properties, and well-established processing technologies. This led to the development of several applications, such as bone fixation screws, bioresorbable suture threads, and stent coating, just to name a few. Nanomedicine could not be unconcerned by PLA-based materials as well, where their use for the synthesis of nanocarriers for the targeted delivery of hydrophobic drugs emerged as a new promising application. The purpose of the here presented review is two-fold: on one side, it aims at providing a broad overview of PLA-based materials and their properties, which allow them gaining a leading role in the biomedical field; on the other side, it offers a specific focus on their recent use in nanomedicine, highlighting opportunities and perspectives.
Highlights
Polylactic acid (PLA), classified as an aliphatic polyester because of the ester bonds that connect the monomer units, has gained a key role in the biomedical field for a wide range of applications: suture threads, bone fixation screws, devices for drug delivery, just to scratch the surface
Active targeting implies the functionalization of nanoparticle surface with suitable ligands, which can interact in a specific way with receptors that are overexpressed in diseased organs, tissues and cells (Bertrand et al, 2014)
PLA—based polymers have been extensively studied in literature and are currently an established reality in the biomedical field, thanks to their interesting properties
Summary
Polylactic acid (PLA), classified as an aliphatic polyester because of the ester bonds that connect the monomer units, has gained a key role in the biomedical field for a wide range of applications: suture threads, bone fixation screws, devices for drug delivery, just to scratch the surface. PLA naturally degrades in situ through hydrolysis mechanism: water molecules break the ester bonds that constitute polymer backbone. This eliminates the necessity of additional surgeries in order to remove the device, improving patient recovery and optimizing health system costs. Degradation kinetics and mechanical properties can be tailored by properly tuning few polymer properties (such as composition or molecular weight), leading to the development of biomedical devices optimized for each specific application. Degradation products (composed of lactic acid and its short oligomers) are recognized and metabolized by the body itself: this gives PLA an intrinsic biocompatibility that dampens the attainment of critical immune responses
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