Valappil Sabeel P, Misra Superb K, Boccaccini Aldo R, Roy Ipsita
Department of Molecular & Applied Biosciences, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London, UK.
Expert Rev Med Devices. 2006 Nov;3(6):853-68. doi: 10.1586/17434440.3.6.853.
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) have been established as biodegradable polymers since the second half of the twentieth century. Altering monomer composition of PHAs allows the development of polymers with favorable mechanical properties, biocompatibility and desirable degradation rates, under specific physiological conditions. Hence, the medical applications of PHAs have been explored extensively in recent years. PHAs have been used to develop devices, including sutures, nerve repair devices, repair patches, slings, cardiovascular patches, orthopedic pins, adhesion barriers, stents, guided tissue repair/regeneration devices, articular cartilage repair devices, nerve guides, tendon repair devices, bone-marrow scaffolds, tissue engineered cardiovascular devices and wound dressings. So far, various tests on animal models have shown polymers, from the PHA family, to be compatible with a range of tissues. Often, pyrogenic contaminants copurified with PHAs limit their pharmacological application rather than the monomeric composition of the PHAs and thus the purity of the PHA material is critical. This review summarizes the animal testing, tissue response, in vivo molecular stability and challenges of using PHAs for medical applications. In future, PHAs may become the materials of choice for various medical applications.
自二十世纪后半叶以来，聚羟基脂肪酸酯（PHA）已被确立为可生物降解的聚合物。改变PHA的单体组成能够开发出在特定生理条件下具有良好机械性能、生物相容性和理想降解速率的聚合物。因此，近年来人们对PHA的医学应用进行了广泛探索。PHA已被用于开发多种装置，包括缝合线、神经修复装置、修复补片、吊带、心血管补片、骨科钢针、粘连屏障、支架、引导组织修复/再生装置、关节软骨修复装置、神经导管、肌腱修复装置、骨髓支架、组织工程心血管装置和伤口敷料。到目前为止，在动物模型上进行的各种测试表明，PHA家族的聚合物与多种组织具有相容性。通常，与PHA共纯化的热原性污染物限制了它们的药理学应用，而非PHA的单体组成，因此PHA材料的纯度至关重要。本综述总结了PHA在医学应用中的动物试验、组织反应、体内分子稳定性及面临的挑战。未来，PHA可能会成为各种医学应用的首选材料。
