NOVEL DEGRADABLE POLYMERS FOR ORTHOPEDIC APPLICATIONS

描述（改编自申请人的摘要）： 肌肉骨骼应用将受益于最近的进展， 开发安全、坚固、易成型和可降解的聚合物。 为 例如，通过固定治疗骨折需要使用 具有足够强度以允许固定的材料，良好的组织/材料 兼容性，以及易于成型（成型为可能复杂的形状）， 由外科医生放置。 此外，控制降解势在必行 以在愈合后恢复最佳的骨功能。 材料必须首先 重新建立骨的机械完整性并随后降解 以允许新骨形成来承受负荷和重塑。 此属性是一个 可降解聚合物材料相对于金属骨科材料的主要优势 在愈合过程中屏蔽应力并可能导致骨萎缩的器械。 可降解聚合物植入物也消除了植入物回收的需要 并且可以同时用于递送治疗药物或生长 因素 该研究的目的是开发一种新的类 可光聚合的可降解聚合物， 机械性能（特别是当样品降解时）， 骨科应用。 开发了一种光聚合体系， 由于许多原因，包括在室温下的快速固化速率， 温度，聚合的空间控制，和完全容易的聚合。 在植入过程中的成形和柔性。 聚合物将是 由新的多官能单体（具有3个或更多个甲基丙烯酸酯 基团），其反应产生密集交联的网络。 网络 将保持可生物降解，因为交联将包含 酸酐或酯键，并且降解速率将被控制 通过网络组成和交联密度的变化。 与这些 新材料，将进行研究，以优化聚合物组合物 以产生所需的机械性能和降解速率， 获得最大的官能团转化率和最小的体积收缩率 在体内固化过程中，并允许容易放置和处理， 外科医生

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from the Applicant's Abstract): Numerous musculoskeletal applications would benefit from recent advances in the development of safe, strong, easily fashioned and degradable polymers. For example, treatment of fractures through fixation requires the use of materials with sufficient strength to allow fixation, good tissue/material compatibility, and facile molding (into potentially complex shapes) for easy placement by the surgeon. In addition, controlled degradation is imperative to restore optimum bone function upon healing. The material must initially re-establish the mechanical integrity of the bone and subsequently degrade to allow new bone formation to bear load and remodel. This property is a major advantage of degradable polymeric materials over metallic orthopedic devices, which shield stresses during healing and can lead to bone atrophy. Degradable polymer implants also eliminate the need for implant retrieval and can be used simultaneously to deliver therapeutic drugs or growth factors. The objective of the proposed research is to develop a new class of degradable polymers that is photopolymerizable and exhibits the desired mechanical properties (particularly as the sample degrades) necessary for orthopedic applications. Development of a photopolymerizable system is beneficial for many reasons, including fast curing rates at room temperature, spatial control of the polymerization, and complete ease of fashioning and flexibility during implantation. The polymers will be produced from novel multifunctional monomers (with 3 or more methacrylate groups) that react to produce densely cross-linked networks. The networks will remain biodegradable because the cross-links will contain either anhydride or ester linkages, and the rate of degradation will be controlled by changes in the network composition and cross-linking density. With these new materials, studies will be performed to optimize the polymer composition to produce the desired mechanical properties and degradation rates, to attain maximum functional group conversion and minimize volume shrinkage during in vivo curing, and to allow easy placement and handling by the surgeon.