Abstract

PORTILLA-ARIAS, José A; GARCIA-ALVAREZ, Montserrat  and  MUNOZ-GUERRA, Sebastián. [front][ign][titlegrp][ign][title language=es]Polímeros biotecnológicos funcionalizados para aplicaciones biomédicas: El ácido poli(b,L-málico). Rev. LatinAm. Metal. Mater. [online]. 2008, vol.28, n.1, pp.03-17. ISSN 0255-6952.

Poly(b,L-malic acid) (PMLA) is a carboxylic functionalized polyester which is produced in the nature by a wide variety of fungi. PMLA may be both chemically synthesized and prepared by biosynthesis in the laboratory in up 60 g·L^-1 yields. The excellent biodegradability and biocompatibility displayed by this innocuous biopolymer, along with the fact of being functionalized, made it exceptionally interesting for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications of temporal use.  However, severe difficulties for chemical modification and technical limitations for high scale production determine that the technological development of PMLA is still incipient. In this paper, the structure and properties of PMLA are described and the synthetic and biosynthetic methods known for its preparation are revised. The different derivatives and chemical modifications realized up to date with the aim of extending its use to the manufacture of last generation biomedical devices are critically referenced.

Keywords : Malic acid; Poly(malic acid); Technological biopolymers; Biotechnological polymers; Biodegradable polyesters; Drug delivery systems.