Biodegradable Polymeric Materials: Synthetic Approach

Abstract

Polymeric materials obtained from petroleum resources are nonbiodegradable. Defying degradation, they damage the environment as a result of their ending up in the landfills. Synthesized biodegradable polymeric materials (BPMs) have received increasing interest owing to the difficulty in procuring reproducibility when using natural polymeric materials. Through the modification of natural polymeric materials or materials via chemical, microbiological, enzyme-mediated, and chemo-enzymatic synthesis, a comprehensive range of variegated BPMs can be reaped. Amended natural polymeric materials such as starch, cellulose, and chitin have enhanced properties, while synthetic BPMs such as PLA, PGA, PCL, PDS, and PLGA are explicitly designed to pursue coveted applications in multifarious domains such as whole diagnostics and therapeutics. Synthesized BPMs can be embedded with tailored characteristics to justify the neoteric entails of mankind.