Modification of polyester for medical uses

Cherry Auditorium, Kirk Hall

Polyester is now the world's biggest volume fiber with a wide range of enduses. Its strength and relative inertness make it useful in several medical applications, but it can still suffer complications of infection, blood clotting and a lack of compatibility with the body. Surface modification of the fiber prompted by established textile processes provides ways to incorporate or link a range of bioactive substances to overcome these problems. The same substances may also be incorporated into polyester solutions that can be electrospun as submicron scale fibers with even more interesting properties.