MEDICAL DEVICE EMPLOYING LIQUID CRYSTAL BLOCK COPOLYMERS AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME

• US 20110092999A1
• Filed: 12/21/2010
• Published: 04/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Inventors: Chen, John J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,187,492 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/192
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 29/049 Mixtures of macromolecular compounds
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 29/126 having a macromolecular matrix
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/1027 Making of balloon catheters
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 53/00 Compositions of block copolymers containing at least one sequence of a polymer obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds; Compositions of derivatives of such polymers
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 19/00 Liquid crystal materials
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 19/3809 Polyesters; Polyester derivatives, e.g. polyamides
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 19/3852 Poly(meth)acrylate derivatives
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 19/408 Polysiloxanes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/1352 Polymer or resin containing [i.e., natural or synthetic]

Abstract

A medical device, at least a portion of which is formed from a polymer composition including at least one liquid crystal block copolymer having at least one A block and at least one B block wherein the A block is formed of mesogenic repeat units and the B block is a soft block.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal block copolymer, the liquid crystal block copolymer comprising:

i. at least one A block, the A block comprises mesogenic repeat units; and

ii. at least one B block, the B block comprises nylon.

2. The liquid crystal block copolymer of claim 1 wherein the B block comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of nylon 6,6, nylon 6 and nylon 12.

3. The liquid crystal block copolymer of claim 1 wherein the A block comprises 4-acetoxybenzoic acid (ABA) and 1,4-butanediol (BDO).

4. The liquid crystal block copolymer of claim 1 having the general structure [(ABA-BDO-ABA-TPA)_x ABA-BDO-ABA]-Ny6-[ABA-BDO-ABA-(TPA-ABA-BDO-ABA)_y].

5. The liquid crystal block copolymer of claim 1 wherein the A block comprises mesogenic repeat units having the following general structure:

6. The liquid crystal block copolymer of claim 1 wherein said B block comprises 0% to about 10% aromaticity.

7. The liquid crystal block copolymer of claim 1 wherein said A block comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of aromatic dicarboxylic acids, aromatic hydroxycarboxylic acids, aromatic aminocarboxylic acids, diphenols and aminophenols.

8. The liquid crystal block copolymer of claim 1 wherein said A block comprises at least one aromatic group per repeat unit of said A block.

9. The liquid crystal block copolymer of claim 1 wherein said A block comprises two aromatic groups per repeat unit of said A block.

10. The liquid crystal block copolymer of claim 1 in a melt blend, the melt blend further comprising at least one polymer selected from the group consisting of polyolefins, polyesters, polyethers, polyamides, polyimides, block copolymer comprising at least one polyolefin, polyester, polyether, polyamide or polyimide segment, silicones and mixtures thereof.

11. The liquid crystal block copolymer of claim 1 in a melt blend, the melt blend further comprising poly(ether-block-amide).

12. The liquid crystal block copolymer of claim 11 wherein said melt blend comprises about 5% to about 30% of said liquid crystal block copolymer and about 70% to about 95% of said poly(ether-block-amide).

13. The liquid crystal block copolymer of claim 1 having a structure selected from the group consisting of A-B diblock, (A-B)_n wherein n is 3 to 20, B-(A-B)_n-B wherein n is 3 to 20, A-B-A triblock, B-A-B triblock having soft segments at the free chain end, A-B-A-B-A pentablock, multiblock polymers such as A-B-C or A-C-B triblock, B-(A-B-C)_n-B wherein n is 3 to 20 and random block copolymers.

14. The liquid crystal block copolymer of claim 13 having a structure selected from the group consisting of A-B-C, A-C-B triblock, B-(A-B-C)_n-B wherein n is 3 to 20 and random block copolymers, the C block is a liquid crystal polymer block derived from different mesogenic repeat units than the A block.

15. A medical device wherein at least a portion thereof comprises the liquid crystal block copolymer of claim 1 and at least one non-liquid crystal polymer.

16. The medical device of claim 15, the medical device is a catheter assembly.

17. The medical device of claim 15, said at least a portion thereof is a catheter shaft.

18. The medical device of claim 15, said medical device is an expandable medical balloon.

19. A liquid crystal block copolymer, the liquid crystal block copolymer comprising:

i. at least one A block, the A block comprises mesogenic repeat units; and

ii. at least one B block, the B block comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of amides, esters, ethers, imides, olefins and siloxanes.

20. The liquid crystal block copolymer of claim 19 wherein said B block is aliphatic.