Polycondensation and ring-opening polymerization are two important polymer synthesis methods. Poly(lactic acid), the most typical biodegradable polymer, has been researched extensively from 1900s. It is of significant importance to have an up-to-date review on the recent improvement in techniques for biodegradable polymers. This review takes poly(lactic acid) as the example to present newly dev...

The application of poly(lactic acid) for sustained protein delivery is restricted by the harsh pH inside carriers. In this study, we synthesized a pH-responsive comb-shaped block copolymer, polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether-ε-polylysine-g-poly (lactic acid) (PEP)to deliver protein (bovine serum albumin (BSA)). The PEP nanoparticles could automatically adjust the internal pH to a milder level...

Implant-based breast reconstruction after mastectomy offers excellent cosmetic results in select individuals. However, this technique may result in a step-off between the implant and the soft tissue of the chest wall, which can be problematic in the extremely thin patient. Also, the removal of soft tissue can result in prominent ribs and visible intercostal spaces. A number of surgical options ...

Poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid microspheres are amenable to a number of biomedical procedures that support delivery of cells, drugs, peptides or genes. Hydrophilisation or wetting of poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid are an important pre-requisites for attachment of cells and can be achieved via exposure to plasma oxygen or nitrogen, surface hydrolysis with NaOH or chloric acid, immersion in ethan...

BACKGROUND Hill and valley scarring is 1 of 3 atrophic scar types that occur as a result of acne, becoming more apparent with facial skin aging. Treatment includes resurfacing techniques and the use of injectable fillers. Poly-L-lactic acid is an injectable collagen builder that has been used for the treatment of HIV-associated lipodystrophy and cosmetic enhancement. OBJECTIVE To determine th...

The enantiomers poly(D-lactic acid) (PDLA) and poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) were alternately adsorbed directly on calcium carbonate (CaCO3) templates and on poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) and poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) multilayer precursors in order to fabricate a novel layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly. A single layer of poly(L-lysine) (PLL) was used as a linker between the (PDLA/PLLA) n st...

Non-substituted racemic poly(DL-lactic acid) (PLA) and substituted racemic poly(DL-lactic acid)s or poly(DL-2-hydroxyalkanoic acid)s with different side-chain lengths, i.e., poly(DL-2-hydroxybutanoic acid) (PBA), poly(DL-2-hydroxyhexanoic acid) (PHA), and poly(DL-2-hydroxydecanoic acid) (PDA) were synthesized by acid-catalyzed polycondensation of DL-lactic acid (LA), DL-2-hydroxybutanoic acid (...