PREPARING POROUS HYDROGEL PRODUCTS

• Main Authors: HALBERSTADT, CRAIG, MOONEY, DAVID, ROWLEY, JON, A, YEH, JULIA, EISELT, PETRA, LATVALA, RACHEL
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 02.06.2004
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F,C08G; BEER; BIOCHEMISTRY; CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS, ORSURGICAL ARTICLES; CHEMISTRY; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; CULTURE MEDIA; DISINFECTION, STERILISATION, OR DEODORISATION OF AIR; ENZYMOLOGY; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; HUMAN NECESSITIES; HYGIENE; MATERIALS FOR BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS, OR SURGICALARTICLES; MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; METALLURGY; METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR STERILISING MATERIALS OR OBJECTS INGENERAL; MICROBIOLOGY; MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL, OR TOILET PURPOSES; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; SPIRITS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; VINEGAR; WINE; WORKING-UP

This invention is directed to a new approach to form porous hydrogel materials by first creating gas pockets in the gel and then removing this gas. The removal of the gas creates a porous material, and the initial incorporation of sufficient gas allows one to create a material with an open, interconnected pore structure. Advantageous features of the resulting materials, in addition to their interconnected pore structure, may include that the pore structure is maintained over extended time periods and that the gels maintain a high mechanical integrity that allows seeding with cells and implantation without destruction or compression of the material.