Polydioxanone

Polydioxanone (PDO, PDS) or poly-p-dioxanone is a colorless, crystalline, biodegradable synthetic polymer.

Chemistry

Chemically, polydioxanone is a polymer of multiple repeating ether-ester units. It is obtained by ring-opening polymerization of the monomer p-dioxanone. The process requires heat and an organometallic catalyst like zirconium acetylacetone or zinc L-lactate. It is characterized by a glass transition temperature in the range of −10 and 0 °C and a crystallinity of about 55%. For the production of sutures, polydioxanone is generally extruded into fibers, however care should be taken to process the polymer to the lowest possible temperature, in order to avoid its spontaneous depolymerization back to the monomer. The ether oxygen group in the backbone of the polymer chain is responsible for its flexibility.

Ring opening polymerization of p-dioxanone to polydioxanone

Medical use

Polydioxanone is used for biomedical applications, particularly in the preparation of surgical sutures. Other biomedical applications include orthopedics, maxillofacial surgery, plastic surgery, drug delivery, cardiovascular applications, and tissue engineering.^[1]^[2]^[3] For example, with the use of electrospinning, the flexible nature of PDS allows the control of its structure and can be used in applications such as tissue scaffolding.^[4]

It is degraded by hydrolysis, and the end products are mainly excreted in urine, the remainder being eliminated by the digestive system or exhaled as CO₂. The biomaterial is completely reabsorbed in 6 months and can be seen only a minimal foreign body reaction tissue in the vicinity of the implant. Materials made of PDS can be sterilized with ethylene oxide.^[5]

References

^ Boland, Eugene D.; Coleman Branch D.; Barnes Catherine P.; Simpson David G.; Wnek Gary E.; Bowlin Gary L. (January 2005). "Electrospinning polydioxanone for biomedical applications". Acta Biomaterialia. 1 (1). Elsevier: 115–123. doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2004.09.003. PMID 16701785.
^ Middleton, J.; A. Tipton (March 1998). "Synthetic biodegradable polymers as medical devices". Medical Plastics and Biomaterials Magazine. Archived from the original on 2007-03-12. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
^ Martins, Joana A; Lach, Antonina A; Morris, Hayley L; Carr, Andrew J; Mouthuy, Pierre-Alexis (26 November 2019). "Polydioxanone implants: A systematic review on safety and performance in patients". Journal of Biomaterials Applications. 34 (7): 902–916. doi:10.1177/0885328219888841. PMC 7044756. PMID 31771403.
^ Boland, Eugene D.; Coleman, Branch D.; Barnes, Catherine P.; Simpson, David G.; Wnek, Gary E.; Bowlin, Gary L. (January 2005). "Electrospinning polydioxanone for biomedical applications". Acta Biomaterialia. 1 (1): 115–123. doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2004.09.003. ISSN 1742-7061. PMID 16701785.
^ Tiberiu Niță (Mar 2011). "Concepts in biological analysis of resorbable materials in oro-maxillofacial surgery". Rev. chir. oro-maxilo-fac. implantol. (in Romanian). 2 (1): 33–38. ISSN 2069-3850. 23. Retrieved 2012-06-06.^{[permanent dead link]}(webpage has a translation button)