Biomedical processing of polyhydroxyalkanoates

The rapidly growing interest on polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) processing for biomedical purposes is justified by the unique combinations of characteristics of this class of polymers in terms of biocompatibility, biodegradability, processing properties, and mechanical behavior, as well as by their great potential for sustainable production. This article aims at overviewing the most exploited processing approaches employed in the biomedical area to fabricate devices and other medical products based on PHA for experimental and commercial applications. For this purpose, physical and processing properties of PHA are discussed in relationship to the requirements of conventionally-employed processing techniques (e.g., solvent casting and melt-spinning), as well as more advanced fabrication approaches (i.e., electrospinning and additive manufacturing). Key scientific investigations published in literature regarding different aspects involved in the processing of PHA homo-and copolymers, such as poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate), and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate), are critically reviewed.