The present application discloses cell-adhesive gellan gum spongy-like hydrogels that are able to entrap/encapsulate adherent cells, which spread within the material, maintaining their phenotype and remaining viable and proliferative. The methodology used to obtain these materials involves hydrogel preparation, freezing, freeze-drying and re-hydration with a saline solution with cells and with/without bioactive molecules. No pre and/or post functionalization of the spongy-like hydrogels with cell adhesive features, as used for other hydrogels, is used. The cell adhesive character of these materials, not observed in hydrogels, is in part explained by their physical properties, between sponges and hydrogels, dissimilar from the precursor hydrogels. The physical properties that are mainly different are the morphology, microstructure, water content, and mechanical performance. Gellan gum spongy-like hydrogels physical properties and biological performance can be tuned by manipulating the parameters involved in spongy-like hydrogel formation. Bioactive molecules can also be entrapped with or without cells to modify the biological performance of the spongy-like hydrogels. These materials can be applied in the context of bioengineering, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and biomedical applications.

A layered microneedle device with successively stacked layers wherein each layer includes microneedles and perforations positions between the microneedles. The layers can be stacked to permit microneedles of a lower layer to extend through the perforations of an upper layer. The microneedles of successively stacked layers can extend away from the individual layers in a common direction.

Mesoporous calcium silicate compositions for controlled release of bioactive agents and methods for producing such compositions are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, mesoporous calcium silicate is synthesized by acid modification of wollastonite particles using hydrochloric acid. A hydrated silica gel layer having abundant SiOH functional groups can be formed on the surface of wollastonite after acid modification. Bruhauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area increased significantly due to acid modification and, in one arrangement, reached over 350 m.sup.2/g. Acid modified mesoporous calcium silicate compositions show a higher ability to adsorb protein compared to unmodified particles and demonstrate controlled release kinetics of these proteins.

A bioabsorbable and photocurable composition, a bioabsorbable guided tissue regeneration composition, and a grafting method using same are provided. The bioabsorbable and photocurable composition includes a photosensitizer and collagen, and is applied onto an in vivo graft site filled with a graft material, so as to cover the graft material while filling an empty space of the graft site, and the photosensitizer is activated by the irradiation of visible light so that the collagen is cross-linked, and the collagen cross-linked by the visible light fills the minute empty space of the graft site and closely binds the graft material to fix the graft material.

Lubricious hydrophilic coatings and methods of making the same.

A silicone oil in water composition that is an injectable filler that is useful as a scaffold for collagen growth in a human. The injectable filler composition comprises of 1.0% to 80.0% of a silicone oil having a viscosity of 10000 centistokes, 20.0% to 80.0% of a water, and 1.5% to 3.0% of a thickening agent, wherein the filler composition is an oil in water emulsion, the silicone oil droplets will have an average diameter from 30 microns to 2000 microns.

The present disclosure provides a drug coating medical instrument, a preparation method therefor and use thereof, and a drug coating and use thereof. The drug coating medical instrument comprises a carrier and a drug coating partially or completely covering the carrier, wherein the drug coating is mainly obtained by coating a coating liquid comprising a macrolide drug and a dispersant; the dispersant comprises water and/or an organic solvent, and the organic solvent includes at least one of ethanol, acetone, dichloromethane, 1,4-dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, and toluene. The drug coating medical instrument provided by the present disclosure can transfer enough drugs to a blood vessel wall in the process of being in contact with the blood vessel wall, and a certain drug concentration is still maintained in the blood vessel wall tissue for a relatively long time after the drug coating medical instrument is withdrawn.

Therapeutic polymeric materials, therapeutic polymeric materials containing medical implants and methods for making the same, and related materials are described. Methods of making medical implants containing additives/antibiotics, therapeutic polymers, and materials used therewith also are described. Methods of spatially controlling additive/antibiotic concentrations, non-homogenous distribution of therapeutic agents in polymeric materials and therapeutic medical implants containing layered constructs of polymeric materials are provided. Therapeutic medical implants containing incorporated therapeutic agents in the polymeric materials, for example, antibiotics into polymeric total joint implants, are useful for delivery of the therapeutic agents into the surrounding mediums.

Lubricious hydrophilic coatings having a first visual appearance when in a non-hydrated state and transitioning to a second visual appearance when in a hydrated state and methods of making the same.

Disclosed embodiments relate to a wound dressing which can generate nitric oxide. The wound dressing may include a cover layer, an activator layer such as an acid providing layer, and a nitrite providing layer. The activator layer may include acidic groups and may be hydrogel, xerogel, or other suitable material. The activator layer may include an acrylate, a dimethacrylate or an acrylamide crosslinker and may also include a antioxidant/reducing agent such as sodium iso-ascorbate. The nitrite providing layer may include a mesh saturated in aqueous sodium nitrite. Nitrite ions of the nitrite providing layer may react with the acidic groups of the activating layer to generate nitric oxide. Additionally, the wound dressing may be produced and stored so as to reduce oxygen inclusion in and exposure to the wound dressing.