BRAIDED TERTIARY NANOFIBROUS STRUCTURE FOR LIGAMENT, TENDON, AND MUSCLE TISSUE IMPLANT

• US 20110190886A1
• Filed: 01/29/2010
• Published: 08/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (University of Wisconsin System)
• Original Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (University of Wisconsin System)
• Inventors: Li, Wan-Ju
• Application Number:
  US12/696,245
• Publication Number:
  US 20110190886A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 623/13.19
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/08 Muscles; Tendons; Ligaments sutures A61B17/04
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2400/12 Nanosized materials, e.g. nanofibres, nanoparticles, nanowires, nanotubes; Nanostructured surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2430/10 for reconstruction of tendons or ligaments
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 27/18 obtained otherwise than by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 27/3834 Cells able to produce different cell types, e.g. hematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, marrow stromal cells, embryonic stem cells
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 27/56 Porous materials, e.g. foams or sponges
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 3/00 Pretreatment of surfaces to which liquids or other fluent materials are to be applied; After-treatment of applied coatings, e.g. intermediate treating of an applied coating preparatory to subsequent applications of liquids or other fluent materials successively applying liquids or other fluent materials B05D1/36; drying ovens F26B
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 67/04 Polyesters derived from hydroxycarboxylic acids, e.g. lactones C08L67/06 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 2533/30 Synthetic polymers thermoreactive polymers, e.g. PNIPAm, C12N2539/10

Abstract

A fabricated braided nanofibrous structure having nanofiber bundles that independently have nanofibers oriented in a uniaxial direction and methods of preparing braided nanofibrous structures. More specifically, the braided nanofibrous structures have at least three nanofiber bundles, wherein the nanofiber bundles are braided together and each nanofiber bundle independently includes at least two nanofibers oriented in a uniaxial direction. The braided nanofibrous structures may be inserted into a region of damaged ligament, tendon, or muscle in a subject.

Claims

1. A braided nanofibrous structure comprising:

at least three nanofiber bundles, wherein the nanofiber bundles are braided together and each nanofiber bundle independently comprises at least two nanofibers oriented in a uniaxial direction.

2. The braided nanofibrous structure as set forth in claim 1, wherein the nanofibers are about 2 μ

m or less in diameter.

3. The braided nanofibrous structure as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of cells.

4. The braided nanofibrous structure as set forth in claim 1, comprising three nanofiber bundles.

5. The braided nanofibrous structure as set forth in claim 1, comprising four nanofiber bundles.

6. The braided nanofibrous structure as set forth in claim 1, comprising five nanofiber bundles.

7. The braided nanofibrous structure as set forth in claim 3, wherein the plurality of cells are selected from the group consisting of ligament fibroblasts, tenocytes, muscle fibroblasts, muscle cells, mesenchymal stem cells, embryonic stem cells, and combinations thereof.

8. The braided nanofibrous structure as set forth in claim 7, wherein the plurality of cells are selected from the group consisting of autologous cells, allogeneic cells, and xenogeneic cells,

9. The braided nanofibrous structure as set forth in claim 1, wherein the nanofibrous polymer comprises at least one of a natural protein and a synthetic material.

10. The braided nanofibrous structure as set forth in claim 9, wherein the textile based material comprises poly(glycolide) (PGA), poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA), poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), poly(L-lactide) (PLLA), poly(D,L-lactide) (P(DLLA)), poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), poly(ε

-caprolactone) (PCL), montmorillonite (MMT), poly(L-lactide-co-ε

-caprolactone) (P(LLA-CL)), poly(ε

-caprolactone-co-ethyl ethylene phosphate) (P(CL-EEP)), poly[bis(p-methylphenoxy)phosphazene] (PNmPh), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), poly(ester urethane) urea (PEUU), poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO), polyurethane (PU), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poly(ethylene-co-vinylacetate) (PEVA), poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), poly(phosphazene), poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol), and combinations thereof.

11. The braided nanofibrous structure as set forth in claim 1, wherein the nanofiber bundle is porous.

12. The braided nanofibrous structure as set forth in claim 11, wherein the nanofiber bundle comprises a porosity of from about 10% to about 95%.

13. The braided nanofibrous structure as set forth in claim 11, wherein the nanofiber bundle comprises pores having a pore size of from about 10 μ

m to about 800 μ

m.

14. A method of preparing a braided nanofibrous structure, the method comprising:

preparing a nanofiber bundle comprising at least two nanofibers, wherein each nanofiber bundle independently comprises at least two nanofibers oriented in a uniaxial direction; and

preparing a braided nanofibrous structure by braiding at least three nanofiber bundles together.

15. The method as set forth in claim 14, further comprising:

seeding the braided nanofibrous structure with a plurality of cells to form a braided nanofibrous structure having cells dispersed therein; and

culturing the braided nanofibrous structure having cells dispersed therein in a bioreactor.

16. The method as set forth in claim 14, wherein the nanofibers are about 2 μ

m or less in diameter.

17. The method as set forth in claim 14, further comprising coating the braided nanofibrous structure with at least one of a cell adhesion molecule or a bioactive molecule.

18. The method as set forth in claim 15, wherein the plurality of cells comprise ligament fibroblasts, tenocytes, muscle fibroblasts, muscle cells, mesenchymal stem cells, embryonic stem cells, and combinations thereof.

19. The method as set forth in claim 15, wherein the culturing the braided nanofibrous structure seeded with the plurality of cells further occurs in the presence of a growth factor.

20. The method as set forth in claim 19 wherein the growth factor is selected from at least one of growth differentiation factors, epidermal growth factors, basic fibroblast growth factors, and transforming growth factor-beta.