ABSTRACT
Polylactic acid (PLA) has been widely used since it was discovered in early 1932 by Carothers (Mehta et al., 2005). However, it was rst synthesized via polycondensation of lactic acid in 1845 by Pelouze (Benninga, 1990). Early in the year, only low-molecular-weight PLA was successfully produced by removing water under vacuum condition. Later in the year, high-molecular-weight PLA was synthesized by a ring-opening polymerization of lactide. It was rst manufactured in the U.S. under the name Vicryl® (polyglactin 910) as suture material. This discovery has a valuable impact in the eld of medicine for wounds or incisions in interior body tissues. Polylactic acid exhibits several advantages such as (1) the monomer can be harnessed from agricultural renewable resources via fermentation, (2) it can be easily recycled back to lactic acid by hydrolysis, (3) it is environmentally friendly because the PLA product is biodegradable, (4) it is safe for all food packaging because it has been categorized as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and (5) its
physical properties can be altered per requirement through material modication (Jamshidian et al., 2010).
