Why Degradable Polymers?

Abstract

Polymers have gained a unique position in modern materials technology for a number of quite different reasons. The development of the inflatable rubber tyre in modern transport would not have been possible without the use of natural, and later synthetic, rubbers as the energy absorbing components. `Plastics', have largely replaced traditional materials used in packaging because of their better physical properties, notably strength and toughness, lightness and barrier properties. Their ability to protect perishable commodities against spoilage at minimal cost has led to a revolution in the distribution of foodstuffs to the extent that they are now indispensable in modern retailing [1].