Biological Activity of Poly(1,3-Propanediol Citrate) Films and Nonwovens: Mechanical, Thermal, Antimicrobial and Cytotoxicity Studies.

Polymers are of great interest for medical and cosmeceutical applications. The current trend is to combine materials of natural and synthetic origin in order to obtain products with appropriate mechanical strength and good biocompatibility, additionally biodegradable and bioresorbable. Citric acid, being an important metabolite, is an interesting substance for the synthesis of materials for biomedical applications. Due to the high functionality of the molecule, it is commonly used in biomaterials chemistry as a crosslinking agent. Among citric acid-based biopolyesters, poly(1,8-octanediol citrate) (POC) is the best known. It shows application potential in soft tissue engineering. This work focuses on a much less studied polyester, poly(1,3-propanediol citrate). Porous and non-porous materials based on the synthesised polyesters were prepared and characterised, including mechanical, thermal and surface properties, morphology, and degradation. The main focus was on assessing the biocompatibility and antimicrobial properties of the materials. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.