Rather than using a racemic mixture of a given monomer, however, the team led by Thomas used two different enantiopure β-lactone derivatives with opposite configurations at their sole stereocentres .

Polymers used in biomedical materials applications take many different forms and functions. We are designing ... a better understanding of existing biomaterials and polymerization processes in general ...

Some polymers contain only one type of monomer as their building block; others, known as copolymers, may contain two or more different types of monomer. The OECD defines a polymer in more detail as: ...