Biopolymers in medical implants: a brief review

Biopolymers have been established as a promising class of materials with a wide range of applications, of which medicine stands out. Characteristics such as biocompatibility, biodegradation and non cytotoxicity make these material excellent candidates to be used in implantable materials. This review paper examines the potential of different biopolymers including polylactic acid (PLA), silk or chitosan, for application in implantable medical devices.This work is financed by FEDER funds through the Competitivity Factors Operational Programme - COMPETE and by national funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology within the scope of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007136