Method of making an ion treated hydrogel
AssigneeHowmedica Osteonics Corp.
InventorsPaul Higham, Philip F. Williams, John Lapszynski, Chau Ngo
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Abstract
A high strength hydrogel having a constant swelling pressure upon implantation and thereafter is formed by preparing a hydrogel solution and then injecting the solution into a mold and cause to gel. The molded gel is then washed in a saline solution from about one day to twelve weeks, after which the gel is irradiated for sterilization purposes, dehydrated and packaged. The pre-treatment with the use of a physiologic solution results in an implant which exhibits a constant swelling pressure profile after implantation.
Claims30
A method for forming a high strength hydrogel medical implant comprising:
- preparing a polymer solution;
- injecting the solution into a mold;
- causing said molded solution to gel by physically cross-linking the solution;
- adjusting the equilibrium hydrogel crystallinity to insure that the swelling pressure of the hydrogel remains stable after implantation by washing said molded gel in a solution comprising sodium, carbonate, chloride and potassium ions;
- dehydrating the molded gel;
- and
- packaging the implant.
A process for treating a hydrogel comprising:
- forming a hydrogel from a polymer solution by physically cross-linking the polymer;
- and
- adjusting the equilibrium hydrogel crystallinity to insure that the swelling pressure of the hydrogel remains stable after implantation by washing the hydrogel in a saline solution including potassium carbonate.
A method of forming a hydrogel medical implant comprising:
- preparing a polymer solution;
- physically cross-linking the solution to form a semi-crystalline gel using a freezing-thawing technique;
- adjusting the equilibrium hydrogel crystallinity to insure that the swelling pressure of the hydrogel remains stable after implantation by washing the gel in a saline solution which further contains potassium carbonate for at least one day.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.