聚乳酸在医学领域应用研究进展

 聚乳酸是一种具有良好的生物相容性、可生物降解性和生物吸收性的脂肪族聚酯类高分子材料，主要原料乳酸来源于玉米等天然材料，其无刺激性、无毒副作用，对人体高度安全，对环境友好，可塑性好，易于加工成型，被公认为新世纪最有前途的生物医用材料和新型包装材料。通过改性后的聚乳酸类材料在力学性能、热性能及降解性能等方面均有改善，更加符合现代医药学材料的要求，近几年已经广泛应用于医用生物材料中。本文详述了聚乳酸类材料在医用手术缝合线、牙科材料、眼科植入材料、骨折固定材料、组织工程支架、药物缓释材料及临床应用等医药学领域中的研究进展，展望了未来聚乳酸类材料的研究及应用方向，为在克服聚乳酸材料原有缺陷的基础上开发出新用途的医药学类材料提供有效的资料依据。

Medical Applications of Polylactic Acid:Recent Advances in Research

Polylactic acid is an aliphatic polyester with excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability and bioabsorbability, and has been extensively applied in biomaterials. The principal raw material, lactic acid, is derived from corn and other natural materials. It is non-irritating and has no toxic effects, and is thus safe for human use. Because of its biodegradability, it is also environmentally friendly. Polylactic acid shows high plasticity and is easy to form, and is considered to be the most promising biomedical and packaging material. The mechanical, thermal and degradation properties of polylactic acid are improved by modifications. It is thus suitable for application as a modern biomedical material and has been widely used in various applications. In the present paper, we discuss recent advances in the medical applications of polylactic acid, including its use in resorbable medical sutures, dental materials, ophthalmic implant materials, fracture fixation devices, tissue engineering, delayed release drug carriers and clinical applications. Finally, we discuss the future prospects for the research and application of polylactic acid biodegradable materials. This paper also provides effective information to help researchers develop new medical materials to overcome the current limitations of polylactic acid-based materials.