Preparing porous hydrogel products

US6511650B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN · US

Inventors

• Petra Eiselt · Houston, US
• Craig R. Halberstadt · Charlotte, US
• David J. Mooney · Ann Arbor, US
• Julia Yeh · Taipei, TW
• Rachel Latvala · Ann Arbor, US
• Jon Rowley · Walkersville, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 18, 2002
• Grant date: Jan 28, 2003
• Expiry date: Apr 18, 2022

Classification

• Technology area (CPC C): Chemistry; Metallurgy
• CPC primary: C12N2533/74
• WIPO field: Medical technology
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

This invention is directed to a new approach to form porous hydrogel materials by first creating gas pockets in the gel and then removing this gas. The removal of the gas creates a porous material, and the initial incorporation of sufficient gas allows one to create a material with an open, interconnected pore structure. Advantageous features of the resulting materials, in addition to their interconnected pore structure, may include that the pore structure is maintained over extended time periods and that the gels maintain a high mechanical integrity that allows seeding with cells and implantation without destruction or compression of the material.