Azeotropic dehydrative (solution) polycondensation of lactic acid to polylactic acid (PLA): A in-depth review of an overlooked method for manufacturing PLA

ABSTRACT

Polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the most promising biopolymers. PLA shows its versatility in biomedical, additive manufacturing, packaging, and many more applications. Its tailorable properties, biocompatibility, and good processibility have attracted researchers. Over the years, the manufacturing of PLA on an industrial scale has grown considerably. Different researchers have reported various methods for PLA synthesize. Ring-opening polymerization (ROP) is a widely used synthesize and commercial manufacturing method. But ROP is quite an expensive method, so it limits the application of PLA in many products. One of the most unexplored methods for PLA synthesize is azeotropic dehydrative polycondensation or solution polymerization. In this study, all methods are compiled and compared on various aspects.

KEYWORDS:

• Azeotropic polymerization
• Lactic acid polymerization
• Polylactic acid (PLA) synthesize
• Solution polymerization

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Harsh Desai

Mr. Harsh Desai is research scholar at Chemical Engineering Department, Institute of Technology, Nirma University, India. Research interest: Biopolymer synthesis, Processing of polymer and synthesis of polymers or drug delivery applications.

Tejal Mehta

Dr. Tejal Mehta is presently working as I/c Director, Professor and Head in Department of Pharmaceutics, Nirma University, Ahmedabad. She has 26 years of teaching and 20 years of research experince. Her are of research is Dissolution enhancment of sparingly soluble drugs and formulation development of convetional and novel drug delivery system using QbD-DoE. She has published more than 100 research papers in journals or national and internaltional repute. Here three patents are granted.

Nimish Shah

Dr. Nimish Shah is working as an Associate Professor in Chemical Engineering Department, Institute of Technology, Nirma University, India. Research interest: Biopolymer synthesis and processing, Biopolymers for 3D printers and Polymers for drug delivery.