INTEMA   05428
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES EN CIENCIA Y TECNOLOGIA DE MATERIALES
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Microwave-assisted polymer synthesis (MAPS) as a tool in biomaterials science: How new and how powerful
Autor/es:
A. SOSNIK; G.A. GOTELLI; G.A. ABRAHAM
Revista:
PROGRESS IN POLYMER SCIENCE - (Print)
Editorial:
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Referencias:
Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2010 p. 1 - 20
ISSN:
0079-6700
Resumen:
Lack of reproducibility, difficult and expensive scale-up and
standarization of synthetic processes are the main hurdles towards the
industrial production of raw synthetic and semi-synthetic polymers for
(bio)pharmaceutical applications. Time- and energy-consuming synthetic
pathways that usually involve the use of volatile, flammable or toxic
organic solvents are apparently cost-viable and environment-friendly
for the synthesis at a laboratory scale. However, they are often not
viable in industrial settings especially due to the impact they have
on the product cost and the deleterious effect on the environment.
This has presented hurdles to the incorporation of many new
biomaterials displaying novel structural features into clinics.
Nevertheless, owing to unique advantages such as shorter reaction
times, higher yields, limited generation of by-products and relatively
easy scale-up without detrimental effects, microwave-assisted organic
synthesis has become an appealing synthetic tool. Regardless of these
features, the use of microwave radiation in biomaterials science has
been comparatively scarce. A growing interest in the basic aspects of
the synthesis of either ceramic and polymeric biomaterials has been
apparent during the last decade. This article reviews the most recent
and prominent applications of MW as a versatile tool to synthesize and
process organic and inorganic polymeric biomaterials, and discusses
the unmet goals and the perspectives for a technology that probably
has the potential to make biomaterials more accessible pharmaceutical
excipients and the products that involve them more affordable to
patients.