One embodiment of the present invention provides a nonwoven fabric containing silk fibers in which an abs intensity ratio [abs (1650)/abs (1620)], which is a ratio of an intensity of a peak positioned in a vicinity of 1650 cm.sup.−1 [abs (1650)] in an infrared absorption spectrum to an intensity of a peak positioned in a vicinity of 1620 cm.sup.−1 [abs (1620)] in an infrared absorption spectrum, is larger than 0.65 and 1.90 or less, and a method for producing the nonwoven fabric containing silk fibers.

Provided are methods, devices and compositions for reducing and/or inhibiting postsurgical tissue adhesion using a hydrogel film disposed onto a target tissue, thereby providing an adhesion barrier that remains over said target tissue for a prescribed period of time. In some embodiments, the hydrogel film is formed by the gelation of a pre-gel mixture applied onto the target tissue as a plurality of particles having an average maximum dimension, such as diameter, of at most about 500 μm. In some embodiments, the hydrogel film has a minimum storage modulus of 100 Pa. In some embodiments, the pre-gel mixture comprises an ECM digest having a collagen to carbohydrate ratio (by mass) of at least 70:1.

The invention relates generally to the fields of biology and health sciences. More particularly, the invention relates to compositions and methods for modulating cellular physiology and pathological processing using a combination of compounds that can be found in amniotic membrane tissue and umbilical cord tissue preparations.

A bioartificial device, such as a bioartificial pancreas, for implantation in a patient's vascular system. The bioartificial pancreas includes a scaffold adapted to engage an interior wall of a blood vessel, a cellular complex support by the scaffold and extending longitudinally within the interior cavity of the scaffold so as to be exposed to the blood flow when the scaffold is engaged with the blood vessel, the cellular complex support comprising one or more pockets bordered by thin film; and cellular complex comprising pancreatic islets disposed in the one or more pockets, the thin film being adapted to permit oxygen and glucose to diffuse from flowing blood into the one or more pockets at a rate sufficient to support the viability of the islets. The invention also includes methods of making and using a bioartificial pancreas.

An amnion tissue delivery system for delivering amnion tissue into a location within a patient is described. The location within a patient may be a tube, vessel, lumen, orifice, fistula, aneurysm, or chamber. The amnion tissue delivery system employs a catheter and extendable element, such as a removable stent-like structure, in a configuration such that extension of the extendable section deploys the amnion tissue at the desired location. A method for delivery of amnion tissue within a patient is also described. The method includes placing the catheter within the patient using a minimally invasive, endoluminal and/or extraluminal procedure to position tissue, followed by deploying the extendable element to deliver the amnion tissue at the desired location.

The present invention relates, in general terms, to methods of reducing the formation of post-surgery tissue adhesion in a subject in need thereof by administering an adhesion barrier composition. The present invention also relates to methods of preventing the formation of tissue adhesion during or post-surgery in a subject in need thereof. The adhesion barrier composition comprises sporopollenin and a biodegradable polymer. The present invention also relates to methods of fabricating the adhesion barrier composition.

Implantable scaffolds that treat solid tumors and escape variants and that provide effective vaccinations against cancer recurrence are described. The scaffolds include genetically-reprogrammed lymphocytes and a lymphocyte-activating moiety.

A tissue graft for soft tissue repair or reconstruction comprising a sheet of a biopolymer-based matrix having a plurality of small perforations and a plurality of large perforations. The small perforations are sized to facilitate clotting and granulation tissue development within the perforations which, in turn, facilitates revascularization and cell repopulation in the patient. The large perforations are sized to reduce the occurrence of clotting and granulation tissue development within the perforations so that extravascular tissue fluids accumulating at the implant site can drain through the tissue graft. The large perforations enhance mammal tissue anchoring by permitting mammal tissue to compress into the perforations increasing mammal tissue contact area.

A hybrid medical device that can aid in reconstructive or augmentative surgery of the breast is disclosed. The device can utilize a suitable biological collagen tissue matrix combined with a synthetic material, for example, that can impart a high initial strength to the repair site while permitting proper healing and revitalization of the implanted device.

Materials for soft tissue repair, and in particular, material for hernia repair. These materials may be configured as an implant, such as a graft, that may be implanted into a patient in need thereof, such as a patient having a hernia or undergoing a hernia repair surgical procedure. These grafts may include a first layer comprising a substrate (e.g., mesh) and a second layer comprising a sheet of anti-adhesive material. The layers may be attached with a plurality of relatively small attachment sites that are separated by regions in which the two layers are not attached, to provide a highly compliant graft.