Binary polyhydroxyalkanoate systems for soft tissue engineering

Abstract

Polyhydroxyalkanoates, a broad family of natural biodegradable and biocompatible polymers, have emerged as highly promising biomaterials both for bulk and biomedical applications. Here we describe an approach to tune the mechanical properties of stiff and brittle poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and thereby to expand its potential biomedical applications. Plasticisation, a common practice in the plastic industry to modify polymer mechanical properties, has been used very cautiously for biomedical applications due to plasticiser toxicity and migration. We have developed a plasticiser for poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) based on a structurally related but softer and pliable medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoate. Additives of oligomeric derivatives of this polymer improved ductility of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), greatly widening the future applicability of this well-established biomaterial. In parallel, the binary polyhydroxyalkanoate materials also exhibited improved cell attachment and proliferation, a highly desirable outcome.

Recent Advances in Bioplastics: Application and Biodegradation

“…This particular terpolyester allowed successful plating of HEK293 cells and fibroblasts. A fully PHA-based scaffold where PHB represented the stiff component while mclPHA represented the soft segment, named binary PHA, was designed by Lukasiewicz and colleagues [164]. This composite was extremely effective in promoting the proliferation of myoblasts cells, potentially due to the increased softness that the mclPHA provided to the composite.…”

Microbial valorization of waste cooking oils for valuable compounds production – a review

“…Some yeasts and fungi species were studied to explore their ability to use WCO as feedstock for the production of added-value compounds, such as lipases, carotenes, citric acid, erythritol or for the accumulation of microbial lipids ( Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), an environmental friendly alternative to synthetic polymers, stand out as one of the main metabolites obtained by microbial conversion of WCO, particularly by bacterial species. These biodegradable biopolymers, which are accumulated in the form of intracellular granules, have a wide range of applications in many fields like cosmetics, pharmacology, tissue engineering, food industry (packaging, molding and coating), agriculture and denitrification in water and wastewater treatment (Kourmentza et al, 2018;Lukasiewicz et al, 2018;Muhammadi, Afzal, & Hameed, 2015). It is expected that PHAs market grows to an estimated e 84.4 million by 2021 (Kourmentza et al, 2018), but the commercial scale production of PHAs is still hindered by the cost of substrate (mainly carbon source), which contributed up to half of the overall production cost (Song, Jeon, Choi, Yoon, & Park, 2008).…”

Biosynthesis and characterization of a novel, biocompatible medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoate by Pseudomonas mendocina CH50 using coconut oil as the carbon source

“…Not only polymers but also their derivatives have been used for biomedical applications. For example, oligomers of mcl-PHAs were added as plasticisers to P(3HB) films and used in the development of tissue engineering scaffolds [14]. Methyl esters of 3HB were used as drugs against Alzheimer's disease, by preventing damage of the mitochondria [15].…”