Renaissance of aliphatic polycarbonates: New techniques and biomedical applications

Abstract

Aliphatic polycarbonates were discovered a long time ago, with their conventional applications mostly limited to low molecular weight oligomeric intermediates for copolymerization with other polymers. Recent developments in polymerization techniques have overcome the difficulty in preparing high molecular weight aliphatic polycarbonates. These in turn, along with new functional monomers, have enabled the preparation of a wide range of aliphatic polycarbonates with diverse chemical compositions and structures. This review summarizes the latest polymerization techniques for preparing well-defined functional aliphatic polycarbonates, as well as the new applications of those aliphatic polycarbonates, esecially in the biomedical field.

Synthetic Biomaterials from Metabolically Derived Synthons

“…Song et al and Zhang et al recently reviewed a number of cyclic carbonates used in the ROP of aliphatic polycarbonates as well as their biomedical applications. 111,112 …”

“…111 When the aliphatic building block is GL, the added functionalities of biocompatibility and biodegradability become key for subsequent use. A number of protected GL-based cyclic carbonates have been described and reviewed.…”

Graphene Oxide Reinforced Polycarbonate Nanocomposite Films with Antibacterial Properties

“…Hence, it is widely used in automotive industry, components of aircraft, electronics, data storage, and biomedical devices such as hemodialyzers, drug delivery carriers, blood oxygenators, and arterial filters [19]. However, PCs have certain drawbacks such as less antibacterial activities, stress cracking, low scratch resistance, high sensitivity to abrasive cleaners, and ability to deteriorate in many organic solvents [18,19]. Generally, the PC's antibacterial activity is being enhanced by functionalizing reactive groups/blending with other antibacterial materials [20][21][22][23].…”

Polycarbonate Micelles for Cancer Therapy

“…Among them, polycarbonates are most promising since they are biodegradable, biocompatible and result in nontoxic degradation products. They are also easy to synthesize due to improvements in polymerization techniques [10]. Furthermore, the cyclic carbonate monomers used have the potential for greater functional diversity compared to cyclic ethers and esters.…”

“…Several studies report on the ability of polymeric micelles with a carbonate-based hydrophobic core to improve loading of anticancer drugs [10,11]. Careful review of the literature suggests two main approaches.…”