Lipoic acid (LA) is a versatile antioxidant that has been used in the treatment of various oxidation–reduction diseases over the past 70 years. Owing to its large five-membered ring tension, the dynamic disulfide bond of LA is highly active, enabling the formation of poly(lipoic acid) (PLA) via ring-opening polymerization (ROP). Herein, we first summarize disulfide-mediated ROP polymerization strategies, providing basic routes for designing and preparing PLA-based materials. PLA, as a biologically derived, low toxic, and easily modified material, possesses dynamic disulfide bonds and universal non-covalent carboxyl groups. We also shed light on the biomedical applications of PLA-based materials based on their biological and structural features and further divide recent works into six categories: antibacterial, anti-inflammation, anticancer, adhesive, flexible electronics, and 3D-printed tissue scaffolds. Finally, the challenges and future prospects associated with the biomedical applications of PLA are discussed.

中文翻译：

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硫辛酸基聚合物的生物应用：具有新前景的旧材料

硫辛酸 (LA) 是一种多功能抗氧化剂，在过去 70 年来一直用于治疗各种氧化还原疾病。由于其较大的五元环张力，LA的动态二硫键非常活跃，能够通过开环聚合（ROP）形成聚硫辛酸（PLA） 。在此，我们首先总结了二硫键介导的ROP聚合策略，为设计和制备PLA基材料提供了基本路线。 PLA作为一种生物衍生的、低毒且易于改性的材料，具有动态二硫键和通用的非共价羧基。我们还根据PLA基材料的生物学和结构特征阐明了其在生物医学方面的应用，并将近期的工作进一步分为六类：抗菌、抗炎、抗癌、粘合剂、柔性电子和3D打印组织支架。最后，讨论了 PLA 生物医学应用面临的挑战和未来前景。