Intraluminal prostheses having polymeric material with selectively modified crystallinity and methods of making same
First Claim
1. A method of manufacturing an intraluminal prosthesis having an outer surface of polymeric material, wherein the intraluminal prosthesis is expandable from a contracted configuration when deployed within a lumen of a subject body, the method comprising annealing a selected portion of the polymeric material for a time prior to deployment and at a temperature sufficient to selectively modify the crystallinity thereof, wherein annealing comprises heating the selected portion of the polymeric material via a light source to a first temperature greater than or equal to the glass transition temperature of the polymeric material for a first period of time and then quenching the selected portion of the polymeric material to a second temperature lower than the glass transition temperature for a second period of time sufficient to selectively control the crystallinity of the selected portion of the polymeric material.
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Abstract
Methods of manufacturing polymeric intraluminal prostheses include annealing the polymeric material to selectively modify the crystallinity thereof. Annealing may be utilized to selectively modify various properties of the polymeric material of an intraluminal prosthesis, including: selectively increasing the modulus of the polymeric material; selectively increasing the hoop strength of the intraluminal prosthesis; selectively modifying the elution rate (increase or decrease) of a pharmacological agent subsequently disposed on or within the annealed polymeric material; selectively increasing/decreasing stress in the intraluminal prosthesis; and selectively modifying the polymeric material such that it erodes at a different rate.
116 Citations
108 Claims
- 1. A method of manufacturing an intraluminal prosthesis having an outer surface of polymeric material, wherein the intraluminal prosthesis is expandable from a contracted configuration when deployed within a lumen of a subject body, the method comprising annealing a selected portion of the polymeric material for a time prior to deployment and at a temperature sufficient to selectively modify the crystallinity thereof, wherein annealing comprises heating the selected portion of the polymeric material via a light source to a first temperature greater than or equal to the glass transition temperature of the polymeric material for a first period of time and then quenching the selected portion of the polymeric material to a second temperature lower than the glass transition temperature for a second period of time sufficient to selectively control the crystallinity of the selected portion of the polymeric material.
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49. A method of manufacturing an intraluminal prosthesis having an outer surface of polymeric material, wherein the intraluminal prosthesis is expandable from a contracted configuration when deployed within a lumen of a subject body, the method comprising:
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annealing a selected portion of the polymeric material via a light source for a time prior to deployment and at a temperature sufficient to selectively modify the crystallinity thereof; and modifying molecular crosslinking of the selected portion of the polymeric material by subjecting the polymeric material to irradiation, wherein the selected portion of the polymeric material is subjected to irradiation during annealing. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78)
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79. A method of manufacturing an intraluminal prosthesis having an outer surface of polymeric material, wherein the intraluminal prosthesis is expandable from a contracted configuration when deployed within a lumen of a subject body, the method comprising:
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annealing a selected portion of the polymeric material via a light source for a time prior to deployment and at a temperature sufficient to selectively modify the crystallinity thereof; and modifying molecular crosslinking of the polymeric material by subjecting the selected portion of the polymeric material to irradiation, wherein the selected portion of the polymeric material is subjected to irradiation after annealing. - View Dependent Claims (80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108)
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Specification