POLY-BETA-HYDROXYBUTYRATE AND OTHER POLY- BETA-HYDROXYALKANOATES - STRUCTURE, PROPERTIES AND APPLICATIONS

For the past several years, poly-P-hydroxybutyrate and its copolymers attract attention of polymer chemists. The reasons are specific proper ties, e.g. the combination of thermoplasticity and biodegradability. T hese microbial polyesters with their processing properties are often c ompared to isotactic polypropylene. Bacterial thermoplastic formed dur ing biological synthesis is biocompatible and biodegradable in the nat ure. These properties determine their potential applications as biomat erials. The purpose of this paper is to survey applications with respe ct to the structure and properties of these biopolymers.