The present invention relates to compounds of Formula I which form hydrogels upon mixing with water, and to fibers which form from the compounds. The hydrogels and fibers are antibacterial and not toxic towards mammalian cells. Such compounds, hydrogels, and fibers are useful, for example, in the treatment of surfaces such as in dermal or internal wounds as a barrier layer, or any article which may require disinfection. (I)

##STR00001##

A biomedical device having improved handling features to be easily inserted into a cavity or recess is disclosed, as well as methods for using thereof, said device comprising a flat and soft substrate, comprising electrically conductive tracks, configured to interface a biological surface; and a rigid member located on a portion of said flat and soft substrate, said member being substantially composed of a mechanically adaptive material being fully or partially degradable upon a degrading/softening trigger.

A cervical dilator including a stem comprising a partly or fully dehydrated hydrogel comprising a water-insoluble synthetic hydrophilic polymer capable of radial expansion due to absorption of water from a bodily fluid. The cervical dilator softens and ripens the cervical tissue and expands the cervical canal by a combined action of radial hydrogel stem expansion and osmotic withdrawal of water from the tissue. The osmotic withdrawal is caused by at least one osmotically active compound, such as a water-soluble salt, a polyelectrolyte, or a mixture thereof, wherein the at least one osmotically active compound is dispersed in the hydrogel. The cervical dilator may also include a non-toxic plasticizer of the hydrogel, such as water.

A device for endovascular treatment to ameliorate aneurysm recurrences by deploying a treatment mesh having a plurality of vertically oriented elongated support reinforcement elements that are substantially parallel and oriented upon a plane in communication with the mesh. Upon deployment, the array of distal ends of the support extensions and reinforcements are substantially oriented upon a plane, which plane is in substantially the same orientation as the opening of the aneurysm into which the device was deployed. The treatment mesh may incorporate a coating of hydrogel, optionally impregnated with pharmaceutical compounds.

Disclosed herein is an anti-adhesion kit comprised of: (i) a fibrinogen solution component comprising: fibrinogen at a concentration of about 5 to 25 mg/ml; and free calcium ions at a concentration ranging from 0.1 μM to 1 mM; and (ii) a thrombin component containing thrombin. Further disclosed is an anti-adhesion kit comprised of: (i) a fibrinogen solution component containing fibrinogen at a concentration of 8% to 25% of total protein by weight, and optionally free calcium ions at a concentration ranging from 0.1 μM to 1 mM; wherein a total protein concentration ranges from about 80 to 120 mg/ml; and (ii) a thrombin component containing thrombin. Methods of using the kits e.g., to provide anti-adhesion curable compositions are also disclosed.

Methods for treating tissue are provided. In one embodiment, an adjunct material, when secured to tissue, can receive at least one physiological element released from the tissue during healing progression of the tissue, and can exhibit first and second stiffnesses in compression that are approximately constant during first and second time periods from contact with the tissue, with the second stiffness decreasing with time as a function of at least one of oxidation, enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis, and change of pH resulting from interaction with the at least one physiological element. In another embodiment, the adjunct can receive a unit volume of fluid that causes first and second portions of the adjunct to expand according to first and second expansion behaviors that differ from one another to apply different pressures to the tissue.

Microneedle electrodes for detecting targets or sensing pH are described. The microneedles may be made of a hydrogel, a probe coupled to the hydrogel for generating an electrochemical signal in the presence of the target, and a conductive material for communicating the electrochemical signal through the hydrogel. The hydrogel microneedles may be used for in-situ detection of targets, such as biomolecules found in interstitial fluid. Also described are methods of producing hydrogel microneedles, articles and apparatus comprising microneedle electrodes, and methods and uses of the same. The microneedle electrodes may be used for biosensing, such as in transdermal patches for detecting biomarkers in a subject. The biosensors may be used for continuous, real-time tracking of targets in-situ, without requiring further reagents or processing steps.

In some aspects, the present invention provides surgical procedures that comprise applying compositions into and/or onto tissue, including supporting tissues (e.g., ligaments, connective tissue, muscles, etc.) for pelvic organs, among other tissues. In other aspects, the present disclosure pertains to compositions that are useful for performing such procedures. In still other aspects, the present disclosure pertains to kits that are useful for performing such procedures.

A lubricating coating including at least one polymer A, a cross-linker and at least one lubricating agent, and wherein a portion of the at least two reactive groups of the cross-linker are covalently linked to the polymer A to form a three-dimensional network in which the lubricant is incorporated, and wherein at the same time another portion of the reactive groups of the cross-linker are covalently linked to the surface of the device or to the optional adhesion layer on the surface of the device.

Hydrogel compositions prepared from amine components and glycidyl ether components are provided which are biocompatible and suitable for use in vivo due, in part, to their excellent stability.