Technology overview
Biocompatible biodegradable polymers such as polyLactide and polyGlycolide have been used in medical devices for many decades. Those polymers, originally designed to produce degradable sutures, have an excellent safety and efficacy track record and were, for many years, the only viable option for designers and engineers.
PolyNovo’s biodegradable polymers are designed to address the deficiencies of existing biodegradable medical polymers by tailoring the properties of NovoSorbTM to the exact product requirements, in many cases eliminating the need to compromise.
NovoSorbTM is a family of biodegradable biocompatible polymers based on Polyurethane chemistry. Polyurethanes are routinely used in every day products such as pneumatic hoses, two-pack paint, glue, textile, foam mattresses and in medical device components such as pacemaker leads, catheters, wound management products or blood bags.
The versatility of this chemistry ensures a wide range of NovoSorbTM polymers can be custom designed using 3 core technologies:
1) Thermoplastics
Thermoplastics are linear polymers that can be thermally processed (extrusion, injection moulding) or used in solution (solvent casting, spraying).
2) Thermosets
Thermosets are network polymers that chemical react (polycondensation) to cure, generally producing heat (exotherm) in the process.
PolyNovo’s two-part liquid polymers systems ‘In-Situ Cure’ (ISC) are based on Thermoset chemistry
3) Light cured
Light cured NovoSorbTM are based both on Polyurethane and Methacrylates chemistries. The liquid polymer is ‘set’ by exposure to a blue light (dentist light)
NovoSorbTM competitive advantages are:
- Versatile platform technology
– Possibility to tune the degradation time independently of mechanical and physical properties
– Drugs and biologics elution (antibacterial, antimicrobial, anaesthetic)
– Ability to use high filler loadings (HA, TCP)
- Wide range of processing options
- Low exotherm for injectable in-situ cure polymers (minimal necrosis)
- Fully synthetic (no risk of diseases transmission)
- Near neutral pH during degradation
- Excellent scalability