EditorialSynthetic Polymers for Biomedical Applications

QiangWei ,1 Nan-Nan Deng ,2 Junling Guo ,2 and Jie Deng 3

1Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg, Germany2Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA3University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

Correspondence should be addressed to Qiang Wei; wei.weiqiang@gmail.com

Qiang Wei, Nan-Nan Deng, Junling Guo, and Jie Deng contributed equally to this work.

Received 13 March 2018; Accepted 13 March 2018; Published 24 April 2018

Copyright © 2018 Qiang Wei et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Polymers have been emerging to be the cornerstones fortherapeutic applications as well as the largest and versatileclass of biomaterials. Synthetic polymers can be designed andsynthesizedwith a broad variety of structures and appropriatephysical and chemical properties, which are of increasinginterest in a wide range of biomedical applications as diverseas tissue engineering, drug delivery, therapeutics, diagnostics,and so on.

Since the last decade, the methods of polymer synthe-sis, processing, and characterization are developing rapidly,which bring both challenges and opportunities to designnovel polymeric biomaterials as well as to understand the bio-logical behaviors between biological systems and polymericmaterials. Therefore, we launch this special issue, includingtwo review articles and four research articles, to summarizethe application of synthetic polymers in biomedical engi-neering and to illustrate the new development of polymericbiomaterials.

One review article “Strain and Vibration inMesenchymalStemCells” focuses on the effect of various culture conditionsand strain or vibration parameters to review the response ofmesenchymal stem cells to vibration and cyclic tension andthen discuss how polymer scaffolds influence cell responseto vibration and strain. The other review article “Scaffoldsfor Pelvic Floor Prolapse: Logical Pathways” highlights therecently developed macroporous monofilament meshes andelectrospinning emerged method, which may fill the gap inthe market to treat pelvic organ prolapse. These two reviewarticles indicate the importance of synthetic polymer scaffoldin basic research and therapeutics, respectively.

The research articles in this issue extend the applicationof synthetic polymers in both basic research and therapeu-tics. Synthetic poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is widelyconsidered as a base material for biomedical applications dueto its good biocompatibility and degradability. In the arti-cle “Influence of Processing Conditions on the MechanicalBehavior and Morphology of Injection Molded Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) 85:15,” an overview is provided among pro-cessing conditions, morphology, and mechanical propertyrelationship of injectionmolded PLGA. Based on the study ofmechanics, PLGA is further processed by injection moldingas craniofacial bioresorbable medical devices in the article“Effect of Injection Molding Melt Temperatures on PLGACraniofacial Plate Properties during In Vitro Degradation.”The mechanical and physicochemical properties of the PGAplates are evaluated in detail during in vitro degradation.G. Rijal et al. fabricated 3D porous scaffolds via PLGA andanother biodegradable synthetic polymer polycaprolactone(PCL) in the article “Application of Synthetic PolymericScaffolds in Breast Cancer 3D Tissue Cultures and AnimalTumor Models.” It has proven that cancer cells grown on3D polymeric scaffolds exhibit distinct survival, morphology,and proliferation compared to those on 2D polymeric sur-faces. Tumor models produced via these 3D scaffolds haveobvious advantages in anticancer drug screening, which canfacilitate the observations of cancer biomarker expression,molecular regulation of cancer progression, and drug effica-cies across tumors at similar sizes and developmental stages.Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is another one of the most com-monly used synthetic polymers for biomaterials. In the article

HindawiInternational Journal of BiomaterialsVolume 2018, Article ID 7158621, 2 pageshttps://doi.org/10.1155/2018/7158621

2 International Journal of Biomaterials

“Efficient Self-Assembly of mPEG End-Capped Porous Silicaas a Redox-SensitiveNanocarrier forControlledDoxorubicinDelivery,” porous nanosilica particles are modified with PEGshell via disulfide bridges and supramolecular interaction fordrug delivery, with benefits of enhanced drug loading capac-ity and decreased risk of systemic toxicity.

In summary, this special issue connects the syntheticpolymers to biomaterials science and engineering. We sin-cerely hope that the readers enjoy reading the presentedoriginal researchwork in this special issue and get inspired fortheir future studies.

Acknowledgments

We appreciate the great effort and the kind contributionsfrom the authors and reviewers to this special issue.

Qiang WeiNan-Nan Deng

Junling GuoJie Deng

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