The present disclosure relates to methods for preparing a hydrophilic composition including intimately mixing a silicone component including at least one polysiloxane and a polymer component, and to hydrophobic polymer compositions prepared thereby. One aspect of the disclosure provides an article having a major exterior surface, the article comprising an intimate mixture of a silicone component including at least one polysiloxane; and a polymer component including at least one hydrophilic polymer having a water-absorption capacity of at least 50 wt. %; wherein the silicone component and the polymer component are present in the mixture in a dry weight ratio within the range of 99.9:0.1 to 30:70. In certain desirable embodiments as otherwise described herein, the intimate mixture is disposed at an exterior surface of the article, e.g., at the major exterior surface of the article.

The present invention is an inflatable balloon which is enclosed by an expandable cover which becomes increasingly porous/permeable during expansion. The balloon is coated or enclosed with a matrix which contains a pharmaceutically active agent. During expansion of the balloon, the pharmaceutically active agent is released or extruded through the expandable cover into a body cavity such as an artery or vein. The present invention also provides for a method of treating a disease or condition by delivering the inflatable balloon to a particular body cavity.

The present invention provides an implantable bioreactor comprising cells enclosed within an enclosure, said cells being capable of producing paracrine factors, wherein the enclosure is collapsible or expandable or both or neither, wherein the enclosure is semipermeable such that it provides containment of the cells preventing the egress of the cells while further providing a barrier that shields the cells from immunological attack, and wherein the enclosure is permeable to the entire secretome of the cell including exosomes, nucleic acids and proteins. The implantable bioreactor can have various configurations and can house internally a cell culture matrix than can include hydrogels, microbeads, and nanofiber matrices along with other active agents.

Methods are provided for surface-modifying a rubber vulcanizate or a thermoplastic elastomer. The methods allow these rubber vulcanizate or thermoplastic elastomer objects to have a lubricating surface layer chemically fixed thereon, instead of having a resin coating which has drawbacks such as a reduction in lubricity due to e.g. separation or peeling of the coating during movement within a vessel or tract. The present invention relates to a method for surface-modifying an object made of a rubber vulcanizate or a thermoplastic elastomer, the method including: step 1 of forming polymerization initiation points on a surface of the object; and step 2 of radically polymerizing a monomer starting from the polymerization initiation points by irradiation with ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 300 to 400 nm in the presence of an alkali metal salt to grow polymer chains on the surface of the object.

Inventive concepts relate generally to the field of implantable urological devices, and more particularly to compositions that inhibit crystallization of urine components. Described are implantable urological devices including a surface and a crystallization inhibitor composition, the crystallization inhibitor composition including: (a) an inhibitor of urine component crystallization in combination with a biodegradable polymer, or a polyalkene homopolymer or copolymer, or (b) a biodegradable polymer that includes an inhibitor of urine component crystallization, wherein the crystallization inhibitor composition provides controlled release of the inhibitor of urine component crystallization from the surface of the device into a subject. Methods of making the implantable urological devices are also described.

The present invention is an inflatable balloon which is enclosed by an expandable cover which becomes increasingly porous/permeable during expansion. The balloon is coated or enclosed with a matrix which contains a pharmaceutically active agent. During expansion of the balloon, the pharmaceutically active agent is released or extruded through the expandable cover into a body cavity such as an artery or vein. The present invention also provides for a method of treating a disease or condition by delivering the inflatable balloon to a particular body cavity.

The present disclosure provides an antimicrobial substrate including a substrate and a polythiophene polymer. The polythiophene polymer has a number of repeated monomer units from n is 5-14 or 30 to 120, a number average molecular weight (Mn) from 1,000 to 4,000 or 10,000 to 40,000; and a polydispersity index (PDI) from 1 to 1.3. The present disclosure also provides the polythiophene polymer and uses thereof.

The present invention relates to the use of nanofibrillar cellulose hydrogel in cell culture and medical applications. The invention relates to a composition comprising nanofibrillar cellulose, cross linkable polymer and at least one bioactive agent. The invention also provides methods for producing the composition and uses thereof. The present invention further relates to the use of said composition for manufacturing of a shaped matrix, the method of preparing said matrix, the matrix and the use of said matrix in various applications.

High strength biomedical materials and processes for making the same are disclosed. Included in the disclosure are nanoporous hydrophilic solids that can be extruded with a high aspect ratio to make high strength medical catheters and other devices with lubricious and biocompatible surfaces. Biologically active agents may be entrapped in pores of materials to provide a controlled release of the biologically active agent.

An airway device for a subject which has an airway tube having a distal end and a proximal end, and a laryngeal mask disposed surrounding the distal end of the airway tube, wherein the inner part of the laryngeal mask has a hollow body filled with a biocompatible thermosensitive hydrogel, wherein the biocompatible thermosensitive hydrogel is gelified within a temperature range such that the biocompatible thermosensitive hydrogel, upon being gelified, allows the laryngeal mask to fit over the circumference of a laryngeal inlet of the subject.