Modified biodegradable and medical polymer devices and a method for preparing the same

#The present invention belongs to the field of medical materials and devices, and in particular describes medical polymer devices having improved mechanical properties and a method for preparing the medical polymer devices.

#The use of biodegradable polymers and their devices in the regenerative medicine or tissue engineering field has been a common practice nowadays. One of the major advantages of using the biodegradable polymers is that the polymer or its device will be completely eliminated from human body after fulfilling its intended function(s).

#Mechanical properties are important considerations when a biodegradable polymer is chosen for an intended application. For example, a surgical suture made from a biodegradable polymer needs to have enough tensile strength to keep the wound close for a certain period of time. Both a biodegradable bone screw and a biodegradable bone plate need to have enough compression and bending strengths to withstand the physiological load from the body and/or body movement. A biodegradable stent will need to have enough radial strength to keep blood vessel open, et al.

#A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention is set forth more particularly in the remainder of the specification, including reference to the accompanying figures, in which

#FIG. 1 illustrates the kinetic curve of the controlled infusion of the small molecule organic compound into a polymer device;

#FIG. 2 illustrates an HPLC chromatogram of methanol extract obtained from a methyl salicylate infused stent;

#The polymer device used in present invention can be immersed completely in the solvent within a container at a set temperature. A typical weight ratio increase curve is shown in FIG. 1.

#The weight increase ratio is calculated as: Q=(Wt−Wo)/Wo×100% Where Q is the weight increase ratio, Wt is the weight of the device at immersion time t, and Wo is the weight of the device before immersion.

#By controlling the immersion time, the amount of the solvent diffused into the polymer device can be controlled at a given temperature.