The invention relates to medical devices and, more in particular, to medical devices suitable for use as stents that contain an antimicrobial coating and, optionally, a drug customized to patients requirements. The invention also relates to methods for obtaining devices having the above features.

This application relates to a magnetically actuatable functional microscaffold for efficient targeted therapy of intractable diseases and a preparation method thereof. The magnetically actuatable functional microscaffold and the preparation method can enable the application of magnetic nanoparticles according to the status of the scaffold and enable various types of targeted therapy in the field of targeted therapy of intractable diseases.

This invention concerns a calcium polyphosphate material consisting of amorphous nanoparticles with a diameter of approximately between about 45 nm to about 0.25 μm that displays a considerable hardness (elastic modulus) of about 1.3 GPa. The inventive noncrystalline and biodegradable material that is produced under mild conditions, at room temperature, is morphogenetically active and preferably induces bone formation and the expression of the marker gene for osteoblast activity, alkaline phosphatase. In a preferred aspect, the invention concerns a method for producing amorphous retinol/calcium-polyphosphate nanospheres (retinol/aCa-polyP-NS) that show several unexpected properties and can be used in the treatment or prophylaxis of a variety of dermatological conditions, including photoaging.

This invention relates to a method for sealing dentinal tubules exposed at the tooth surface as a consequence of enamel defects, based on amorphous calcium polyphosphate (Ca-polyP) nano- or microparticles that strongly bind both to tooth enamel, cementum and dentin surfaces. The inventive method can also be used for the production of morphogenetically active tooth implants. A further aspect of this invention concerns the incorporation of such nano- or microparticles, after encapsulation of retinol (“retinol/aCa-polyP nano- or microspheres”), into wound dressings and related materials that are made, e.g., by electrospinning. The resulting, inventive retinol/aCa-polyP nano- or microspheres fiber mats show antimicrobial and wound healing properties and was found to increase the expression of the genes encoding for leptin and the leptin receptor, as well as the fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) in a synergistic manner. This inventive material is the first material that can be used to promote wound healing through affecting the leptin/leptin receptor expression.

A balloon catheter system for infusion of micelles at high pressure. The system includes a catheter with a drug eluting balloon with a perforated wall with numerous pores, a reservoir of nanoparticles in an aqueous solution disposed within the balloon or in fluid communication with the balloon. The particles may comprise drug loaded micelles, where the micelles are provided in the size range of 40 to 250 nm generally (0.040 μm to 0.250 μm), and the pores of the balloon wall are configured to allow passage of the micelles with a minimum of disruption, The pores are conical, with the diameter of the pore at the inside of the balloon wall smaller than the diameter of the pores at the outside of the balloon wall.

The invention provides methods of making microparticle and nanoparticle ocular implants from a compositions comprising: 99 to 60% (w/w) of a photopolymerizable composition selected from the group of fragments or monomers consisting of polyalkylene glycol diacrylate and polyalkylene glycol dimethacrylate, wherein the photopolymerizable composition has a molecular weight in the range of 100 to 20,000 Dalton; a biodegradable polymer selected from the group consisting of aliphatic polyester-based polyurethanes, polylactides, polycaprolactones, polyorthoesters and mixtures, copolymers, and block copolymers thereof; a photoinitiator; and a therapeutic agent.

Disclosed herein is a particle delivery system comprising electrospun nanofiber comprised of coaxial fiber with a microfluidic core. Iron-doped apatite nanoparticles (IDANPs) have demonstrated a unique influence over phage killing of bacteria, whereby, IDANP-exposed bacterial cultures experience 2× the bacterial death as controls. IDANPs consist of hydroxyapatite (HA) doped with iron. HA is a mineral known to be biocompatible and analogous to the inorganic constituent of mammalian bone and teeth and has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for many applications in medicine and dentistry. Previous work has shown that for IDANPs to enhance antibacterial activity of phage to the greatest extent, bacterial cultures should be exposed to IDANPs for 1 hr prior to phage introduction. Biocompatible polymer materials which encase IDANPs and/or phage can be used to disseminate IDANPs and/or phage in a controlled manner into a physiological system for treatment of bacterial infection. When components of said materials contain micro- or nano-scale components, high surface-to-volume ratio for treatment delivery is garnered.

The present disclosure describes a treatment composition comprising a nanoparticle composition comprising nanoparticles functionalized with surface amine groups and a crosslinking composition comprising genipin. The disclosure also describes a kit comprising the treatment composition, and instructions for using the kit to crosslink the nanoparticles to a tissue graft. The treatment composition and kit can be used to crosslink nanoparticles to a tissue graft, and the resulting tissue graft can be used to replace defective tissue in a subject in need thereof.

Described herein are biocompatible materials that include a nitric oxide (NO) donor embedded in silk fibroin nanoparticles. In one aspect, the nitric oxide donor is present in the hydrophobic core of the silk fibroin nanoparticles such that the nitric oxide donor is encapsulated. The biocompatible materials described herein serve as a biocompatible and inexpensive nitric oxide delivery platform that provide sustained release of nitric oxide. The biocompatible materials are non-toxic and can be used in biomedical applications such as wound healing, where a combination of therapeutic and antibacterial properties of silk and nitric oxide are desired. Additionally, described herein are methods of making the biocompatible materials.

In one aspect, the disclosure relates pertains to a vitreous substitute comprising a gel and an antioxidant, wherein the vitreous substitute mimics the physical properties of natural vitreous humor, as well as its methods of use in the treatment of ophthalmological disorders.