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International Journal of Polymer Science
Volume 2010 (2010), Article ID 423460, 8 pages
doi:10.1155/2010/423460
Amphiphilic Poly(3-hydroxy alkanoate)s: Potential Candidates for Medical Applications
Department of Chemistry, Zonguldak Karaelmas University, 67100 Zonguldak, Turkey
Received 3 December 2009; Accepted 31 December 2009
Academic Editor: Shanfeng Wang
Copyright © 2010 Baki Hazer. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Poly(3-hydroxy alkanoate)s, PHAs, have been very attractive as biomaterials due to their biodegradability and biocompatibility. These hydrophobic natural polyesters, PHAs, need to have hydrophilic character particularly for drug delivery systems. In this manner, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and hydrophilic functional groups such as amine, hydroxyl, carboxyl, and sulfonic acid have been introduced into the PHAs in order to obtain amphiphilic polymers. This review involves in the synthesis and characterization of the amphiphilic PHAs.