Development of hydrolytically or enzymatically labile bonds is an on-going
process in connection to biomaterials. Synthetic biodegradable polymers such as
polyhydroxy acids (PHAs), which include homo as well as copolymers of polylactic acid
(PLA) and polyglycolic acid (PGA), are inexplicably used in drug delivery and tissue
engineering applications. Adjusting the ratio of constituting architecture of block
copolymers to manipulate amphiphilic behavior and chemical as well as physical properties
is the prime methodology adopted for tailoring PHAs suiting specific requirements. It is
critical to develop three dimensional porous scaffolds with enhanced cell adhesion
characteristics for improved tissue regeneration while ‘modified’ release of payload is
essential in novel targeted drug delivery systems. Combinatorial polymeric architectures
composed of synthetic and naturally derived components aid in attaining these prerequisites
by providing surface functionalities, optimal hydrophobic-hydrophilic ratio and
flexibility of support. Synthesis of ‘tailored’ natural and synthetic biodegradable
copolymers is the thrust research area making use of advantageous properties of both
individual components for creating a unique structural analogy mimicking biological
world. Biomaterials created solely from natural polymers such as polysaccharides and
proteins find many uses as drug delivery carriers and ‘grafts’. However, they are
mechanically weak, their integration with PLA and PGA considerably improve mechanical
strength while retaining higher cell adhesion capabilities.
The present chapter details combinatorial approaches for the generation of large arrays
of biodegradable polymeric materials entailing multitudes of components to meet their
desired properties. Novel synthetic methods generating varied hybrid polymeric
products like sponges, meshes, microspheres and nanoparticles are discussed.
Keywords: Alginate, biomaterials, blending, bone growth, cell differentiation,
chemical attachment, chitosan, drug delivery, grafting, hyaluronic acid, hybrids,
hydrolytic cleavage, nanocarriers, natural polymers, Poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid,
Polyhydroxy acids, polylactic acid, scaffold, surface modification, tissue
engineering.
