Abstract
Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is widely used in many different biomedical applications due to its biocompatibility, complete biodegradability, and non-toxic degradation products. However, PLA may be limited in particularly long degradation, which is not always desirable in many biomedical applications. In this short review, we summarized some of the most recent studies on controlling the degradation rate of PLA, employing copolymerization, blending, additives and irradiation. This review discussed the pros and cons of those methods considering their applications to bioabsorbable fixation or drug delivery devices. We also suggested the design parameters for PLA treatment for its wide applicability to biomedical fields.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Gopferich A. Mechanisms of polymer degradation and erosion. Biomater. 1997; 17:103–114.
Li S. Hydrolytic degradation characteristics of aliphatic polyesters derived from lactic and glycolic acids. J Biomed Mater Res. 1999; 48:342–353.
Mukherjee DP, Pietrzak WS. Bioabsorbable fixation: scientific, technical, and clinical concepts. J Craniofac Surg. 2011; 22:679–689.
Lee SS, Hughes P, Ross AD, Robinson MR. Biodegradable implants for sustained drug release in the eye. Pharm Res. 2010; 27:2043–2053.
Tsuji H, Ikarashi K. In vitro hydrolysis of poly(L-lactide) crystalline residues as extended-chain crystallites. Part I: long-term hydrolysis in phosphate-buffred solution at 37 degrees C. Biomaterials. 2004; 25:5449–5455.
Matsusue Y, Yamamuro T, Oka M, Shikinami Y, Hyon SH, Ikada Y. In vitro and in vivo studies on bioabsorbable ultra-high-strength poly(L-lactide) rods. J Biomed Mater Res. 1992; 26:1553–1567.
Reed AM, Gilding DK. Biodegradable polymers for use in surgery — poly(glycolic)/poly(lactic acid) homo and copolymers: 2. In vitro degradation. Polym. 1981; 22:494–498.
Grizzi I, Garreau H, Li S, Vert M. Biodegradation of devices based on poly(DL-lactic acid): size-dependence. Biomater. 1995; 16:305–311.
Labrecque LV, Kumar RA, Dave V, Gross RA, McCarthy SP. Citrate esters as plasticizers for poly(lactic acid). J Appl Polym Sci. 1997; 66:1507–1513.
Li S, Girod-Holland S, Vert M. Hydrolytic degradation of poly(DL-lactic acid) in the presence of caffeine base. J Control Release. 1996; 40:41–53.
Renouf-Glauser AC, Rose J, Farrar D, Cameron RE. A degradation study of PLLA containing lauric acid. Biomater. 2005; 26:2415–2422.
Renouf-Glauser AC, Rose J, Farrar DF, Cameron RE. Comparison of the hydrolytic degradation and deformation properties of a PLLA-lauric acid based family of biomaterials. Biomacromol. 2006; 7:612–617.
Cairns ML, Sykes A, Dickson GR, Orr JF, Farrar D, Dumba A, Buchanan FJ. Through-thickness control of polymer bioreabsorption via electron beam irradiation. Acta Biomaterial. 2011; 7:548–557.
Tsuji H, Ikada Y. Blends of crystalline and amorphous poly(lactide) III. Hydrolysis of solution-cast blend films. J Appl Polym Sci. 1997; 63:855–863.
Kimura Y, Matsuzaki Y, Yamane H, Kitao T. Preparation of block copoly(ester-ether) comprising poly(L-lactide) and poly(oxypropylene) and degradation of its fibre in vitro and in vivo. Polym. 1989; 30:1342–1349.
Kim K, Yu M, Zong X, Chiu J, Fang D, Seo YS, Hsiao BS, Chu B, Hadjiargyrou M. Control of degradation rate and hydrophilicity in electrospun non-woven poly(D,L-lactide) nanofiber scaffolds for biomedical applications. Biomater. 2003; 24:4977–4985.
Shinoda H, Asou Y, Kashima T, Kato T, Tseng Y, Yagi T. Amphiphilic biodegradable copolymer, poly(aspartic acid-colactide): acceleration of degradation rate and improvement of thermal stability for poly(lactic acid), poly(butylene succinate) and poly(ɛ-caprolactone). Biomol Bioscience. 2003; 80:241–250.
Oyama H, Tanaka Y, Kadoska A. Rapid controlled hydrolytic degradation of poly(L-lactic acid) by blending with poly(aspartic acid-co-L-lactide). Polym Degrad Stabil. 2009; 94:1419–1426.
Pionteck J, Hu J, Pompe G, Albrecht V, Schulze U, Borsig E. Characterization of radiation behavior of polyethylene/polymethacrylates interpenetrating polymer networks. Polym. 2000; 41:7915–7923.
Loo JSC, Ooi CP, Boey FYC. Degradation of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and poly(L-lactide) (PLA) by electron beam radiation. Biomaterials. 2005; 26:1359–1367.
Leonard DJ, Pick LT, Farrar DF, Dickson GR, Orr JF, Buchanan FJ. The modification of PLA and PLGA using electron-beam radiation. J Biomed Mater Res A. 2009; 89:567–574.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shasteen, C., Choy, Y.B. Controlling degradation rate of poly(lactic acid) for its biomedical applications. Biomed. Eng. Lett. 1, 163–167 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13534-011-0025-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13534-011-0025-8