Title
Nanomembranes and nanofibers from biodegradable conducting polymers
Date Issued
14 October 2013
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Abstract
This review provides a current status report of the field concerning preparation of fibrous mats based on biodegradable (e.g., aliphatic polyesters such as polylactide or polycaprolactone) and conducting polymers (e.g., polyaniline, polypirrole or polythiophenes). These materials have potential biomedical applications (e.g., tissue engineering or drug delivery systems) and can be combined to get free-standing nanomembranes and nanofibers that retain the better properties of their corresponding individual components. Systems based on biodegradable and conducting polymers constitute nowadays one of the most promising solutions to develop advanced materials enable to cover aspects like local stimulation of desired tissue, tim controlled drug release and stimulation of either the proliferation or differentiation of various cell types. The first sections of the review are focused on a general overview of conducting and biodegradable polymers most usually employed and the explanation of the most suitable techniques for preparing nanofibers and nanomembranes (i.e., electrospinning and spin coating). Following sections are organized according to the base conducting polymer (e.g., Sections 4-6 describe hybrid systems having aniline, pyrrole and thiophene units, respectively). Each one of these sections includes specific subsections dealing with applications in a nanofiber or nanomembrane form. Finally, miscellaneous systems and concluding remarks are givenin the two last sections. © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Start page
1115
End page
1157
Volume
5
Issue
3
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ingeniería química
Ciencia de los polímeros
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84885159840
Source
Polymers
ISSN of the container
20734360
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus