Chemical composition of hydrogels for use as articulating surfaces
First Claim
1. A hydrogel composition comprising at least one polymer with functional groups including alcohol groups, acid groups, and amide groups, wherein the ratio of the functional alcohol groups to functional acid groups in the hydrogel composition ranges from about 16:
- 1 to about 3;
2, in which the functional alcohol groups are from polyvinyl alcohol.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a hydrogel composition comprising at least one polymer with functional groups including alcohol groups, acid groups, and amide groups and where the ratio of the functional alcohol groups to functional acid groups in the hydrogel composition ranges from about 16:1 to about 3:2. The present invention also provides a method of repairing an articulating surface in a body using the inventive composition. The inventive hydrogel composition is created by blending two or more polymers to achieve the desired ratio of functional groups, reacting at least one polymer with a reagent that results in the formation of alcohol, acid, and/or amide functional groups of the desired ratio, and/or polymerizing at least one monomer to achieve the desired ratio of functional groups.
202 Citations
19 Claims
-
1. A hydrogel composition comprising at least one polymer with functional groups including alcohol groups, acid groups, and amide groups, wherein the ratio of the functional alcohol groups to functional acid groups in the hydrogel composition ranges from about 16:
- 1 to about 3;
2, in which the functional alcohol groups are from polyvinyl alcohol. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 16, 18)
- 1 to about 3;
-
12. A method of repairing an articulating surface in a body with a hydrogel composition comprising at least one polymer with functional groups including alcohol groups, acid groups, and amide groups, wherein the ratio of the functional alcohol groups to functional acid groups in the hydrogel composition ranges from about 16:
- 1 to about 3;
2, in which the functional alcohol groups are from polyvinyl alcohol , the method comprising;creating the hydrogel composition in a step comprising blending two or more polymers, reacting at least one polymer with a reagent, or polymerizing at least one monomer to provide the hydrogel composition; forming the hydrogel composition into a hydrogel article of the approximate dimensions of the articulating surface to be repaired; and replacing the damaged articulating surface with the hydrogel article. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 17, 19)
- 1 to about 3;
Specification