Biodegradable soft elastomers: synthesis/properties of materials and fabrication of scaffolds

Recently there have been increasing research efforts in the development of elastomeric biomaterials with desirable biocompatibility, degradation profiles and mechanical properties for use in soft tissue engineering. This review provides an update on the progresses of developing biodegradable, soft elastomeric biomaterials and their tissue engineering scaffolding techniques. Following a brief review on traditional thermoplastic elastomers, including polyurethane (PU), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and aliphatic copolyesters, detailed review is devoted to the synthesis, properties and scaffold fabrication of recently developed soft, biodegradable elastomers, including poly(polyol sebacate) (PPS), PPS-based elastomers, and citric-acid based elastomers. Although biodegradable, soft elastomeric biomaterials have advantages (compliant and biodegradable), this review also identified a number of issues associated with these elastomers, including cytotoxicity, rapid in vivo degradation rates, and poor reproducibility. Future research directions are discussed to address these issues.