Special Issue "Biodegradable Polymers - Where We Are and Where to Going"
A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomacromolecules, Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2019) | Viewed by 33276
Special Issue Editors

Interests: biocompatible and biodegradable polymer systems; polymer mass spectrometry; bioactive oligomers; controlled drug delivery systems; ring-opening polymerization; forensic engineering of advanced polymeric materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Interests: polymers from renewable resources; synthesis of functional polymers; structure–property relationships; novel polymeric materials of controlled biodegradability; application of mass spectrometry techniques to the structural study of synthetic polymers at the molecular level
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are just at the beginning of cleaning up the effects of the development of classic plastics. The development of biodegradable polymers possesses boundless significance and opens up new possibilities for a future sustainable society. The use of biodegradable polymers is of great importance for many applications. Biodegradable polymers include natural polymers from plants, such as starch, polymers produced by microorganisms (polyhydroxyalkanoate, PHA), polymers whose monomers have a natural origin (polylactide, PLA), and synthetic polymers, such as aliphatic–aromatic co-polyesters. PHA is a group of biopolyesters that has a wide range of applications. Extensive progress has been made in our understanding of PHA biosynthesis, and currently it is possible to engineer bacterial strains to produce PHA with desired properties. Moreover, the chemical modification of PHA, which introduces functional groups that cannot be easily achieved by bioconversion processes, are a valuable challenge, since chemically-modified PHA can be utilized as a multifunctional biomaterial. However, further studies are still needed in order to define and minimize the potential failure of novel biodegradable polymer products for specific applications.
This Special Issue comprises already published papers devoted to biodegradable polymers for environmental and medical applications and welcomes reviews, full papers and short communications highlighting various aspects of the current trends in this area.
Prof. Marek M. Kowalczuk
Prof. Grażyna Adamus
Guest Editors
Keywords
- novel synthetic approaches for biodegradable polymers
- structure–property relationships of biodegradable polymers
- characterization of biodegradable polymers at the molecular level
- biodegradable polymeric packages of food and cosmetics
- biodegradable polymeric mulch films