Medical device employing liquid crystal block copolymers and method of making the same

• US 8,496,616 B2
• Filed: 05/09/2012
• Issued: 07/30/2013
• 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.
• Primary Examiner(s): WU, SHEAN CHIU
• Application Number:
  US13/467,642
• Publication Number:
  US 20120220932A1
• Time in Patent Office: 447 Days
• Field of Search: 604/96.01, 604/264, 604/103.01, 604/103.11, 604/523, 604/524, 252/299.01, 525/434
• US Class Current: 604/96.01
• 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 catheter assembly, at least a portion of the catheter assembly formed from a polymer composition, the polymer composition comprising:

a liquid crystal block copolymer having an A block and a B block, the A block is a mesogenic block, the B block comprising at least one member selected from the group consisting of olefins, esters, ethers, amides, and siloxanes; and

at least one polymer which is not a liquid crystal polymer, the at least one polymer selected so as to be compatible with the B block of the liquid crystal block copolymer.

2. The catheter assembly of claim 1 comprising an expandable balloon member, the expandable balloon member is formed from said polymer composition.

3. The catheter assembly of claim 2 wherein said at least one polymer which is not a liquid crystal polymer is a poly(ether-block-amide).

4. The catheter assembly of claim 3 wherein said B block comprises amides.

5. The catheter assembly of claim 4 wherein said A block comprises the reaction product of 4-acetoxybenzoic acid and 1,4-butanediol.

6. The catheter assembly of claim 4 wherein said A block is polymerized with terephthalic acid and nylon 6.

7. The catheter assembly of claim 6 wherein said liquid crystal block copolymer is an A-B-A block copolymer having the general formula [(ABA-BDO-ABA-TPA)_x ABA-BDO-ABA]-Ny6-[ABA-BDO-ABA-(TPA-ABA-BDO-ABA)_y].

8. The catheter assembly of claim 4 wherein said A block comprises 1,3-propane diol or ethylene glycol.

9. The catheter assembly of claim 5 wherein said A block is polymerized with a diacid terminated nylon polymer.

10. The catheter assembly of claim 6 wherein said A block is polymerized with 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid.

11. The catheter assembly of claim 5 wherein said A block is polymerized with 6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid.

12. The catheter assembly of claim 1, said catheter assembly comprising at least one catheter shaft, at least a portion of said at least one catheter shaft comprises said polymer composition.

13. An expandable medical balloon, the expandable medical balloon formed from at least one poly(ether-block-amide) block copolymer, the expandable medical balloon is reinforced with a liquid crystal block copolymer having at least one mesogenic A block and at least one non-liquid crystal polymer B block.

14. The expandable medical balloon of claim 13 wherein said poly(ether-block-amide) block copolymer is compatible with said non-liquid crystal polymer B block.

15. The expandable medical balloon of claim 13 wherein said B block of said liquid crystal block copolymer comprises a diacid terminated nylon polymer.

16. The expandable medical balloon of claim 15 wherein said diacid terminated nylon polymer is nylon 6, nylon 6,10 or nylon 9,12.

17. The expandable medical balloon of claim 13 wherein said B block comprises a mono-acid terminated nylon polymer and said block copolymer is an AB diblock copolymer.

18. The expandable medical balloon of claim 17 wherein said mono-acid terminated nylon polymer is nylon 12.

19. The expandable medical balloon of claim 13 wherein said mesogenic A block is nylon and said B block comprises polytetramethylene oxide.

20. The expandable medical balloon of claim 19 wherein said nylon comprises at least one aromatic group per a repeat unit.