Degradable polymers in a living environment: where do you end up?

Abstract

AbstractThe resistance of synthetic polymers to the action of living systems is becoming more and more problematic in certain domains in which they are used for a limited period of time before becoming waste. It is exemplified in surgery, pharmacology, agriculture and in the environment too. In these domains, time‐resistant polymeric wastes are less and less acceptable. From this viewpoint, sutures, bone fracture fixation devices, mulch films and packagings are comparable. Basically they should be eliminated after use. Post‐use biorecycling is regarded as a possible solution to some of the problems raised by the management of these polymeric wastes, regardless of the domain of application. This contribution aims to present simple and versatile methods with a potential to investigate the fate, and especially the bioassimilation, of the degradation by‐products of degradable or bio‐degradable polymers in complex living media such as the human body, a compost or the outdoor environment. Two versatile methods are presented that have been developed to radio‐label degradable and biodegradable artificial aliphatic polyesters by substituting some protons by tritium atoms. It is also shown that weighing a population of starved earthworms, allowed to be in contact with degradable or biodegradable polymer, is a worthwhile method to demonstrate that degradation by‐products are bioassimilated.© 2002 Society of Chemical Industry