Required Properties
Biodegradable polymers should be 1) non-toxic, 2) capable of maintaining good mechanical integrity until degraded, and 3) capable of controlled rates of degradation. A goal is not to illicit the immune response, and the products of degradation also need to be non-toxic. With regard to controlled degradation, is it possible to trigger degradation?
A goal is to control the rate at which water can get into polymers. Factors controlling the rate of degradation include: 1) percent crystallinity, 2) molecular weight, 3) hydrophobicity. The degradation rate depends on the location in the body. The environment surrounding the polymer is different depending on the location in the body
Read more about this topic: Biodegradable Polymer
Famous quotes containing the words properties and/or required:
“A drop of water has the properties of the sea, but cannot exhibit a storm. There is beauty of a concert, as well as of a flute; strength of a host, as well as of a hero.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“In properly organized groups no faith is required; what is required is simply a little trust and even that only for a little while, for the sooner a man begins to verify all he hears the better it is for him.”
—George Gurdjieff (c. 1877–1949)