Biodegradable Polymers

A biodegradable material is one that microorganisms in the environment can readily break down. Natural polymers do this on their own, decomposing over time -- but ordinary synthetic polymers generally do not, which is exactly why they build up in the environment and cause serious pollution. One direct solution is to engineer synthetic polymers that soil microorganisms CAN break down: the named examples are polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), polyglycolic acid (PGA), polylactic acid (PLA) and poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL).

Because they are broken down by ordinary enzyme action and either metabolised or excreted by the body, biodegradable polymers have found a natural home in medicine -- surgical sutures and plasma substitutes are the examples given, both applications where a material that quietly disappears on its own, without needing to be surgically removed later, is a genuine advantage. …