Synthetic biopolymers

Abstract

Matters, surfaces, or constructs that interact with biological systems and evaluate, treat, augment, or replace any part of the body are termed biomaterials. They can be produced from a variety of chemical compounds, yet biopolymers have always been the main and most favored type of biomaterials. The main types of biopolymers are biosynthetically derived polysaccharides and proteins and aliphatic polyesters and polyphosphoester that are obtained by chemical synthesis. The latter have become attractive alternatives to biosynthetic biopolymers for biomedical applications because they have less risk to trigger immune responses in the body and can more easily be modified. This review summarizes the main polymers applied in this area, outlines their routes of synthesis, and illustrates the advances in their biomedical applications.