TY - JOUR A1 - Bertin, Annabelle T1 - Emergence of polymer stereocomplexes for biomedical applications JF - Macromolecular chemistry and physics N2 - Polylactide (PLA) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) constitute, already for several decades, the gold standards for various biomedical applications due to their biocompatibility/inertness. Moreover, they have an additional property: they can form stereocomplexes (SCs) that have a more compact crystalline structure than the individual components. As a result, polymer SCs display improved thermal and mechanical properties, as well as delayed drug release and biodegradation rate in the case of drug delivery systems and biomaterials based on PLA, which is of prime importance in the biomedical field. In this article, the potential of SCs for biomedical applications in the areas of drug delivery, tissue engineering, and nanostructured surfaces is highlighted. KW - Biomedical applications of polymers KW - Polylactide KW - Poly(methyl methacrylate) KW - Self-assembly KW - Stereocomplexation PY - 2012 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/macp.201200143 SN - 1022-1352 SN - 1521-3935 VL - 213 IS - 22 SP - 2329 EP - 2352 PB - Wiley-VCH Verl. CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-27212 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -