Fabrication aspects of PLA-CaP/PLGA-CaP composites for orthopedic applications: A review

For several decades, composites made of polylactic acid-calcium phosphates (PLA-CaP) and polylactic acid-co-glycolic acid-calcium phosphates (PLGA-CaP) have seen widespread uses in orthopedic applications. This paper reviews the fabrication aspects of these composites, following the ubiquitous materials science approach by studying "processing-structure-property" correlations. Various fabrication processes such as microencapsulation, phase separation, electrospinning, supercritical gas foaming, etc., are reviewed, with specific examples of their applications in fabricating these composites. The effect of the incorporation of CaP materials on the mechanical and biological performance of PLA/PLGA is addressed. In addition, this paper describes the state of the art on challenges and innovations concerning CaP dispersion, incorporation of biomolecules/stem cells and long-term degradation of the composites. (C) 2012 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.