Novel trends in poly (lactic) acid hybrid bionanocomposites

Abstract

The advent of nanotechnology has engineered great interest in synthetic biopolymer-based nanocomposites for use in tissue engineering scaffolds, automotives, pharmaceuticals, and so on, due to enhanced mechanical behavior, flexible biodegradation kinetics, and biocompatibility. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA), attained from natural materials, exhibit biodegradability, and bioabsorbability, with notable demand because of inherent versatility of applications in aforementioned fields. Nevertheless, due to minimal glass transition temperature, poor thermal dimensional stability, as well as mechanical ductility, its scope of application is restricted. Thus, microfillers and nanoparticles such as nanoclay, hydroxyapatite, carbon nanoarchitectures, metallic nanoparticles, and so on, offering superior mechanical, chemical, thermal, flame retardant properties, and so on, are used in enhancing PLA behavior. Therefore, this paper presents recently emerging trends in PLA bionanocomposites for multifunctional applications, including strategies for novel fabrication. Further insight on recent advancements in synthetic biopolymers or saturated poly(hydroxy esters) such as poly(glycolic acid) (PGA), poly (lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), and poly (caprolactone) (PCL) are presented.