Biodegradable Polymers

Abstract

Advancements in chemistry have led to the design and development of biodegradable polymers (BPs) for biomedical applications. BPs are characterized by having the potential to lower the environmental footprint through the introduction of advanced bio-safe health-care and therapeutic technologies, environmental and energy applications. This has been realized through the design of new BPs and/or modification of existing BPs. The design of these biodegradable systems requires biodegradable substrates and monomers that are the building blocks of polymers. The chemical configuration of BPs is instrumental in their properties, behavior, and biodegradability. Polymer degradability can be achieved through engineering, material science-based strategies, and synthetic approaches. This chapter focuses on recent advances in the strategies used to engineer BPs, polymers that can degrade partially, and those that can be recycled into monomeric and oligomeric building blocks. Additionally, the chapter explores the types of linkages and bonds that have been relatively unexplored to achieve degradability, the mechanism of breakdown of BPs, and their breakdown products. Finally, the chapter looks at the general application of BPs in enhancing the delivery of therapeutics, development of medical devices, tissue engineering, and future perspectives of the chemistry of BPs.