Glycolide and lactide function as the commonly used diester monomers for the preparation of high-molecular weight, degradation-prone (co-)polyesters. Both glycolide and lactide-based polymers are widely used in medicine, pharmaceuticals, the food industry, and additive technologies. This review on the diesters, spanning research from 1833-1854 to the present, encompassing their structural peculiarities, physico-chemical properties, and the range of different methods for obtaining themincluding reaction mechanismsfrom lactic and glycolic acids, their esters, and halogen derivatives. The review also discusses the chemical transformations of lactide and glycolide (apart from ring-opening polymerization) into valuable organic and high-molecular compounds, such as acrylic acid, nitrogen-containing heterocycles, and functional polymers with novel properties.

Novel hybrid magnetoactive composite scaffolds based on poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), gelatin, and magnetite (Fe3O4) were fabricated by electrospinning. The morphology, structure, phase composition, and magnetic properties of composite scaffolds were studied. Fabrication procedures of PHB/gelatin and PHB/gelatin/Fe3O4 scaffolds resulted in the formation of both core-shell and ribbon-shaped structure of the fibers. In case of hybrid PHB/gelatin/Fe3O4 scaffolds submicron-sized Fe3O4 particles were observed in the surface layers of the fibers. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results allowed the presence of gelatin on the fiber surface (N/C ratio–0.11) to be revealed. Incubation of the composite scaffolds in saline for 3 h decreased the amount of gelatin on the surface by more than ~75%. The differential scanning calorimetry results obtained for pure PHB scaffolds revealed a characteristic melting peak at 177.5 °C. The presence of gelatin in PHB/gelatin and PHB/gelatin/Fe3O4 scaffolds resulted in the decrease in melting temperature to 168–169 °C in comparison with pure PHB scaffolds due to the core-shell structure of the fibers. Hybrid scaffolds also demonstrated a decrease in crystallinity from 52.3% (PHB) to 16.9% (PHB/gelatin) and 9.2% (PHB/gelatin/Fe3O4). All the prepared scaffolds were non-toxic and saturation magnetization of the composite scaffolds with magnetite was 3.27 ± 0.22 emu/g, which makes them prospective candidates for usage in biomedical applications.

The development of functional magnetoactive materials fabricated in the form of electrospun scaffolds is of paramount importance for modern medicine and pharmaceuticals. To precisely control the morphology and magnetic properties of the composite magnetoactive scaffolds, the electrospinning conditions, incorporation method of magnetic particles into the polymer solution to avoid agglomeration, and the shape/size of the particles should be thoroughly studied. In this study, hybrid magnetoactive scaffolds based on poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)), doped with either unmodified magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) or magnetite particles modified with oleic acid (Fe 3 O 4 /OA), have been fabricated by electrospinning. Modification of magnetite particles by oleic acid results in the formation of nanosized particles in comparison with submicron-sized Fe 3 O 4 particles (37 vs. 329 nm), which reveal a greater affinity to P(VDF-TrFE) due to their hydrophobic surface. Composite scaffolds prepared using 30 wt% polymer solution with 8 wt% Fe 3 O 4 and Fe 3 O 4 /OA reveal saturation magnetization values of 9.14 and 5.8 emu/g, respectively. The saturation magnetization of composite scaffolds agrees well with the saturation magnetization of the initial magnetites. Considering the better dispersion of Fe 3 O 4 /OA in the polymer solution, a series of composite scaffolds with 4 and

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