Polymeric Implant Materials

Abstract

Polymers (poly = many, mer = unit) are made by linking small molecules (mers) through primary covalent bonding in the main molecular chain backbone with C, N, O, Si, etc. One example is polyethylene, which is made from ethylene (CH2=CH2), where the carbon atoms share electrons with two other hydrogen and carbon atoms: –CH2-(CH2–CH2)n–CH2–, in which n indicates the number of repeating units.