Synthetic polymers in biological environment

Synthetic Non-Biodegradable Polymers:

Synthetic polymers have been widely used in making various medical devices, such as disposable supplies, implants, drug delivery systems and tissue engineering scaffolds. The advantages of using polymers, as biomaterials, are their manufacturability. Polymers are easy to fabricate into various sizes and shapes compared to metals and ceramics. They are also light in weight and with a wide range ...

Cell microencapsulation with synthetic polymers

The encapsulation of cells into polymeric microspheres or microcapsules has permitted the transplantation of cells into human and animal subjects without the need for immunosuppressants. Cell-based therapies use donor cells to provide sustained release of a therapeutic product, such as insulin, and have shown promise in treating a variety of diseases. Immunoisolation of these cells via microenc...

Nanostructures from Synthetic Genetic Polymers

Nanoscale objects of increasing complexity can be constructed from DNA or RNA. However, the scope of potential applications could be enhanced by expanding beyond the moderate chemical diversity of natural nucleic acids. Here, we explore the construction of nano-objects made entirely from alternative building blocks: synthetic genetic polymers not found in nature, also called xeno nucleic acids ...

Natural and Synthetic Biomedical Polymers

Synthetic polymers in the marine environment: a rapidly increasing, long-term threat.

Synthetic polymers, commonly known as plastics, have been entering the marine environment in quantities paralleling their level of production over the last half century. However, in the last two decades of the 20th Century, the deposition rate accelerated past the rate of production, and plastics are now one of the most common and persistent pollutants in ocean waters and beaches worldwide. Thi...