Epoxy enhanced polymer membrane to increase durability of biosensors
First Claim
1. A permeable membrane for an implantable biosensor comprising a cured product of an epoxy resin enhanced polymer composition comprising:
- at least one epoxy resin adhesive comprising an epoxy resin and a curing agent for curing the epoxy resin,at least one polymer different from the epoxy resin adhesive, andat least one water-immiscible organic solvent;
wherein the at least one epoxy resin adhesive accounts for about 10% to about 60% by weight of the permeable membrane; and
wherein the at least one polymer different from the epoxy resin adhesive accounts for about 30% to about 80% by weight of the permeable membrane.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a polymer membrane enhanced with cured epoxy resin for use as the outer membrane of biosensors. The membrane includes approximately 30-80% epoxy resin adhesives, 10-60% polymer such as poly(vinyl chloride), polycarbonate and polyurethane and 0-30% plasticizers and 5-15% surface modifier reagent such as polyethylene oxide-containing block copolymers. Utilizing the polymer membrane of the present invention, a three-layered sensing element has been developed. This sensing element will be particularly useful for miniaturized biosensors used for in vitro blood measurements or for continuous in vivo monitoring such as implantable biosensors. This element includes an enzyme layer, an interference-eliminating layer and the novel polymer member of the present invention as the outer polymer layer. This novel sensing element shows excellent response characteristics in solutions and has an extremely long lifetime. This technology is particularly useful for improving the lifetime of implantable biosensors.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A permeable membrane for an implantable biosensor comprising a cured product of an epoxy resin enhanced polymer composition comprising:
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at least one epoxy resin adhesive comprising an epoxy resin and a curing agent for curing the epoxy resin, at least one polymer different from the epoxy resin adhesive, and at least one water-immiscible organic solvent; wherein the at least one epoxy resin adhesive accounts for about 10% to about 60% by weight of the permeable membrane; and wherein the at least one polymer different from the epoxy resin adhesive accounts for about 30% to about 80% by weight of the permeable membrane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A multilayered sensing element for implantable long term biosensors comprising:
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an immobilized enzyme layer formed on an electrode surface; and a permeable membrane comprised of a cured product of an epoxy resin enhanced polymer composition whereby the permeable membrane is external to and surrounding the immobilized enzyme layer; the epoxy resin enhanced polymer composition comprising; at least one epoxy resin adhesive comprising an epoxy resin and a curing agent for curing the epoxy resin, at least one polymer different from the epoxy resin adhesive, and at least one organic solvent; wherein the at least one epoxy resin adhesive accounts for about 10% to about 60% by weight of the permeable membrane; and wherein the at least one a polymer different from the epoxy resin adhesive accounts for about 30% to about 80% by weight of the permeable membrane. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification