Poly(lactic acid) and its composites as functional materials for 3-D scaffolds in biomedical applications: A mini-review of recent trends

Patients sometimes lose organs and/or organ functions due to disease and injury, which may result in permanent disabilities. Advanced biotechnological practices can now afford victims of these incidences an opportunity to repair some of the damaged tissues or organs without the need for a donor. This can be achieved by reconstruction of the damaged tissue or organ through scaffold and cell technologies. Scaffolds serve as template material for neo-organs to guide and accelerate cell growth. The structure of a scaffold material must meet certain design parameters to achieve optimal functionality in tissue engineering. Pre-requisites include surface compatibility and architectural suitability with the host environment. Polymeric scaffolds derived from polymer blends have the prospects to control the physical and chemical environment of the biological system. In this review, potential roles, general properties, advantages, and disadvantages of poly (lactic acid) and its composites as functional materials for scaffolding will be outlined. PLA and its composites have been subjects of research for some decades due to non-toxicity and the ability to mimic native tissue. Though PLA and composites have demonstrated great potential for various biomedical applications, a lot still needs to be done for them to compete with donor and prosthetic organs.

Automated summary

Advanced biotechnological practices offer patients the opportunity to repair damaged tissues and organs without the need for a donor, using polymeric scaffolds such as poly (lactic acid). While these scaffolds have great potential in tissue engineering, there is still progress needed to compete with donor and prosthetic organs.