SBIR Phase I: Development of High Strength Polymers for Utilization as Biodegradable Fracture Fixation Devices in Bone Repair

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段的项目是开发高强度的生物降解聚合物，其机械性能足以在高负荷应用中用作骨折固定装置。今天的大多数骨折都是用金属装置固定的，但为了防止骨萎缩，可能需要在骨愈合后进行第二次手术来移除装置。通过使用可再利用的可生物降解装置，消除了第二次手术的需要。目前，商业上可用的可生物降解装置没有足够的机械强度来满足高负荷应用。先前的工作表明，一类新的合成的、可降解的酪氨酸聚合物可能在骨修复中有用。这一阶段项目的目标是对这些生物材料进行结构改性，并证明改性后的结构具有力学性能和降解率的最佳组合。该项目在骨科领域的商业应用。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop high strength biodegradable polymers with mechanical properties sufficient to function as fracture fixation devices in high load bearing applications. The majority of fractures today are fixed with metallic devices but to prevent bone atrophy, these may require a second surgery to remove the device after bone healing has occurred. By using resorbing biodegradable devices, the need for the second surgical procedure is eliminated. At this time, commercially available biodegradable devices do not have sufficient mechanical strength for high load bearing applications. Prior work has shown that a new class of synthetic, degradable polymers derived from tyrosine, may be useful in bone repair. The objective of this Phase I project is to structurally modify these biomaterials and demonstrate that the modified structures posses an optimal combination of mechanical properties and degradation rate.The commercial application of this project is in the area of orthopedics.