Biodegradable Polymers

NOTE! A student must have basic knowledge about polymer science before coming to this course. There will be a test about the prerequisites at the beginning of the course.

If the prerequisites have been completed elsewhere, contact responsible teacher before the course!

After completing this course, the student has an overall understanding on biodegradable polymers from polymer synthesis to final non-medical and medical applications. Student knows the general structure, properties, degradation mechanism and typical application areas of different biodegradable polymers and can utilize the knowledge to justify the use of different materials in specific applications. Student also recognizes the specialties that need to be considered while using biodegradable polymers instead of more stable materials.

After this course, student understands the most common processing methods used for biodegradable polymers, and processing limitations of different materials. Student understands the sterilization process as a part of material processing and can select the most suitable sterilization technique. Student can explain the factors that affect the degradation profile and also the means to prevent unintended degradation. To get some practical perspective, student has participated laboratory demonstrations of selected processing and characterization methods.

After completing this course, student has compared the specific biodegradable polymers by compiling written summaries and/or by giving short presentations in a small team by utilizing the given and self-found literature. Student has also used summaries written by others to broaden the understanding and generalize the learnings.

If we need to limit the number of participants, the students majoring in biomaterials are prioritized.

Course is suitable for postgraduate studies.