Polymers as Biomaterials

Nearly 4000 years ago, the Egyptians used linen, a natural polymeric material, for suturing wounds. About 600 B.C., the Indians used other forms of natural polymers such as cotton, horse hair, and leather in repairing wounds. Wound closure procedures using silk sutures, based mostly on polypeptides, are likely to have been practiced during the second century. Surgical application of natural polyme...