A high molecular weight polyethylene polymer is formulated so that the polymer is capable of being injection molded. The polyethylene polymer has a Viscosity Number of greater than about 400 ml/g and has a melt flow rate of greater than about 0.9 g/10 min. The polyethylene polymer is of high purity and is particularly well suited for producing medical products.

Described are methods for producing tissue constructs, tissue constructs produced by the methods, and their use. The described method of producing a tissue construct comprises providing a granular tissue, depositing one or more filaments on or in the granular tissue, each filament comprising an ink, and gelling or fusing the granular tissue, thereby producing the tissue construct.

The invention provides methods for the treatment of vaginal laxity which include delivering a cell-containing composition to the vagina. The composition can include fat tissue to provide a bulking effect to reduce the size of the vaginal opening. The cells can provide healing and revascularization of the vaginal treatment area to sustain the bulking provided by the fat. The invention also provides systems and compositions useful for performing the method, and can include instruments and devices for removal of autologous adipose tissue from a patient (e.g., by liposuction), equipment for the enrichment of cells from adipose tissue, mechanical processing of adipose tissue, and the mixing of cells and processed adipose tissue. Devices for the delivery of the cell compositions to the vagina can also be included in the system.

Absorbable barrier composites are designed for modulated gas and water permeability depending on clinical use and are formed of at least two physicochemically distinct components, one of which is a film adjoined to a knitted mesh and/or electrostatically spun, non-woven fabric. Depending on the physicochemical properties of the barrier composite, it can be used in neurological and urinogenital surgical procedures as well as tissue engineering and/or as physical barriers to prevent adhesion formation following several types of surgical procedures.

An antimicrobial article, a cell culture article, an antithrombotic article, or a biopharmaceutical article that can reduce adhesion of proteins, blood components, cells, or bacteria containing a copolymer that contains a polymerized unit (A) represented by CH.sub.2CHOH and a polymerized unit (B) represented by CH.sub.2CX.sub.2, wherein Xs are the same as or different from each other, and are each an alkyl group having a linear, branched, or cyclic structure, and optionally containing an oxygen atom between carbon atoms, an alkoxy group having a linear, branched, or cyclic structure, and optionally containing a hetero atom between carbon atoms, a siloxy group having a carbon number of 3 or greater, an ester group containing an aromatic ring or an alkyl group and having a linear, branched, or cyclic structure, or H, excluding those in which both Xs are H.

An implantable apparatus, including at least one corrodible zinc-containing portion, where a content range of zinc in the at least one zinc-containing portion is [30, 50) wt. % and zinc in the zinc-containing portion is an amorphous structure, or a content range of zinc in the at least one zinc-containing portion is [50, 70] wt. %, and a microscopic structure of zinc in the zinc-containing portion is at least one of an amorphous structure, a non-equiaxed structure, an ultrafine-grained structure, or an equiaxed structure with a grain size number of 7 to 14, or a content range of zinc in the at least one zinc-containing portion is (70, 100] wt. % and a microscopic structure of zinc in the zinc-containing portion is at least one of a non-equiaxed structure, an ultrafine-grained structure, or an equiaxed structure with a grain size number of 7 to 14.

Disclosed are engineered tissues and organs comprising one or more layers of muscle, the engineered tissue or organ consisting essentially of cellular material, provided that the engineered tissue or organ is implantable in a vertebrate subject and not a vascular tube.

Methods and materials for the cryopreservation of cellularised scaffolds used for therapeutic or pharmacological testing purposes that provide a cultured scaffold on which cells have been seeded, equilibrate the cellularised scaffold with a cryopreservative composition comprising culture medium and between 5 and 30% of a cryoprotectant such as DMSO, freeze the equilibrated cellularised scaffold by reducing the temperature continuously by about 1 C./minute to about 80 C., and store the frozen cellularised scaffold at a temperature of between 135 C. and 198 C.

The present invention relates to a bellows framework having a concave-convex structure on at least one of outer and inner sides using three-dimensional printing technology and a method of producing thereof, and an artificial tracheal replacement comprising an epithelium part formed on the inner side of the bellows framework and an annular cartilage part formed along the circumference of concave-convex grooves on the outer side and a method of producing thereof.

A method for coupling a body conduit to tissue includes engaging an implant about an outer surface of a catheter. The implant receives a bioactive agent having tissue growth properties. The method involves inserting the catheter through the body conduit and into a tissue opening across a resected area, positioning the implant in the resected area, inflating a balloon to anchor the catheter within the tissue opening such that the implant bridges the body conduit and the tissue opening across the resected area, and maintaining the catheter and the implant in vivo to enable the bioactive agent to secure the implant in the resected area to permanently bridge the body conduit and the tissue opening.