Synthesis of polylactides, polyglycolides and their copolymers.

An overview is given of several polymerization routes of lactides and glycolides. Well-known in the literature are melt- and bulk-polymerization. These two polymerization types are discussed, showing that they have certain advantages and disadvantages. Less known are the solution and suspension polymerization of lactides and glycolides. These two techniques are described in detail. In certain cases these polymerizations have advantages over the aforementioned ones. It is shown that lower system viscosity enables better heat transfer during the reaction, resulting in a better, controllable reaction. The first results of solution and suspension polymerization are presented, showing that these techniques have great potential in the future.