Absorbable Biomaterial Is Suited for Diverse Applications

Originally Published MPMN October 2001

Absorbable Biomaterial Is Suited for Diverse Applications

Offering flexibility, pliability, and absorbency, a biosynthetic material from Tepha Inc. (Cambridge, MA; www.tepha.com) can be used in a range of medical device and tissue-engineering applications. "Most biosynthetic materials used today were originally developed for sutures," says president Simon Williams. "While they are suitable for that function, they often do not have the optimal properties for the many other applications to which they've been adapted."

Tepha's new PHA4400 polyester material meets the broad requirements of these other uses by offering a wide range of physical capabilities. The elastomer can be processed into most shapes using melt or solvent processes. It liquefies at temperatures of 50°–180°C and has a tensile strength of 20–90 MPa in its unoriented form. Other benefits include high elongation before breaking and the formation of nonacidic degradation by-products. Among its many applications, PHA4400 can be used in surgical meshes, nerve guides, skin-substitute patches, heart valves, stents, grafts, internal fixation devices, and bulking agents. The material is also suitable for sutures.

Zachary Turke

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