Group of polyesters

Polyesters are polymers in which the bonds between the monomers occur via ester groups. There are many types of natural esters, and their degrading enzymes – the esterases – are present everywhere, together with the living organisms. The ester bonds are generally easy to hydrolyze. The group of biodegradable polyesters mainly consists of: a) linear aliphatic (i. e., non-aromatic) polyesters, such as polyglycolic acid (PGA) and poly (ℇ- caprolactone) (PCL); b) aliphatic polyesters with short chain branching, such as polylactic acid (PLA), poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), and c) aliphatic-aromatic polyesters such as poly(butylene succinate-coterephthalate) (PBST) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT).