RESUMO
BACKGROUND:Polylactic acid and its copolymers have been widely used in biomedical fields because of their good biocompatibility and biodegradability, which have become a hotspot in the research of biomaterials. OBJECTIVE:To review the biocompatibility of fully degradable polylactic acid and its copolymers. METHODS:A computer-based online retrieval of PubMed and CNKI was performed to search relevant papers published from 2006 to 2016, with the key words of "polylactide, polylactic acid, copolymer, biodegradability, biocompatibility, animal" in English and Chinese, respectively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Polylactic acid and its copolymers as polyester compounds are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in the biomedical field because of their good biocompatibility mainly as drug delivery carriers and temporary implants. Moreover, their side effects in clinical application have attracted attentions. Polylactide copolymers can cause some adverse reactions when used in drug delivery systems, orthopedic and skin care, and other clinical medical fields. These copolymers are deemed to have no impact on the central nervous system, eyes, cardiovessels and other tissues and organs. They also have no virtually genotoxic and carcinogenic effects. Currently, the polylactide copolymer implant mainly results in local reactions in the surrounding tissues, and no systemic reactions have been found.
