Design and fabrication of functional polycaprolactone

Functional polycaprolactone (PCL) has great potential for applications in biomedical areas. This review summarizes the recent progress in the chemical synthesis of functional PCL. The functional PCL can be synthesized by (a) homopolymerization or copolymerization of functional epsilon-caprolactone (epsilon-CL), (b) copolymerization of 2-methylene-1-3-dioxepane with functional vinyl monomers, or (c) copolymerization of epsilon-CL with functional carbonate monomers. This review presents the recent trends in the synthesis of functional PCL and its biomedical applications.