Recent Advances in Biodegradable Polymers for Medical Applications
A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2024 | Viewed by 102
Special Issue Editors
Interests: antimicrobial resistance; public health; polymers
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Biodegradable polymers have gained increasing attention in recent years as a potential way to provide sustainable medical applications. These polymers can degrade into non-toxic products under certain physiological conditions, making them attractive for use in a range of medical applications. These include:
(1) Tissue engineering. In this context, polymers can be used to create scaffolds that provide mechanical support and guide the growth of cells. These polymers are typically combined with cells and used to create tissue grafts or implants that degrade over time as the native tissue regains its function. For example, PLA and PGA have been used to create 3D scaffolds that support bone and cartilage regeneration, while polyglycolide-co-polylactic acid (PGA-PLA) has been used for soft tissue engineering applications.
(2) Wound dressings and surgical sutures. In these applications, polymers degrade over time, reducing the need for follow-up surgeries or procedures to remove dressings or sutures. Polymers can also be designed to release antimicrobial agents to prevent infection during wound healing. For example, hyaluronic acid-based polymers have been used as wound dressings that promote wound healing and degrade over time, while polyvinyl alcohol-based sutures have been used for general surgical sutures.
In conclusion, biodegradable polymers have emerged as a highly promising class of materials for medical applications. The recent advances in their design and development have opened new opportunities for their use in drug delivery, tissue engineering, wound dressings, surgical sutures, and other areas with the potential to revolutionize medical care in the coming years.
In this Special Issue, we aim to present a collection of original research papers and reviews on biodegradable polymers for medical applications, topics of interest include:
- Biodegradable polymers composites;
- Polymeric composites with antimicrobial activity;
- Functionalized/multi-functionalized polymeric composites;
- Therapeutic polymeric composites;
- Smart polymeric composites;
- Polymeric carriers for drug delivery.
Prof. Dr. Tao Li
Prof. Dr. Qiang Zhang
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- polymers
- antimicrobial activity
- drug delivery
- tissue engineering
- wound dressing
- wound healing
- 3D scaffolds
- medical applications
