23 research outputs found
Methods and systems for synthesis of an ultra high molecular weight polymer
A method for controlling
the physical state of an ultra-high
molecular weight polymer to make the
ultra-high molecular weight polymer
suitable for further processing, and related
polymers compositions methods
and systems, wherein the method comprises
combining a catalyst, monomers,
and an additive, for a time and under
condition to allow synthesis of a nascent
polymer and eo-crystallization of the
nascent polymer with the additive
Direct Route to Colloidal UHMWPE by Including LLDPE in Solution during Homogeneous Polymerization of Ethylene
The usual aggregation and precipitation driven by crystallization of nascent PE during homogeneous polymerization of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is inhibited by including linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) in the catalyst solution prior to addition of ethylene monomer. Co-crystallization of newly formed PE and dissolved LLDPE creates a polymer brush on the fold surfaces of the nascent crystallites. Consequently, aggregation is inhibited by steric stabilization. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show that individual lamellae (approximately 10â20 nm thick) typically have lateral dimensions of 0.5 Îźm Ă 3.5 Îźm and form âbowtieâ shaped stacks that are approximately 200â500 nm thick. This simple method for stabilizing nascent crystals against precipitation is enabling fundamental studies of their metastable âdisentangledâ state and may open scalable routes to compounding UHMWPE
Multiplicity of morphologies in poly (L-lactide) bioresorbable vascular scaffolds
Poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) is the structural material of the first clinically approved bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS), a promising alternative to permanent metal stents for treatment of coronary heart disease. BVSs are transient implants that support the occluded artery for 6 mo and are completely resorbed in 2 y. Clinical trials of BVSs report restoration of arterial vasomotion and elimination of serious complications such as late stent thrombosis. It is remarkable that a scaffold made from PLLA, known as a brittle polymer, does not fracture when crimped onto a balloon catheter or during deployment in the artery. We used X-ray microdiffraction to discover how PLLA acquired ductile character and found that the crimping process creates localized regions of extreme anisotropy; PLLA chains in the scaffold change orientation from the hoop direction to the radial direction on micrometer-scale distances. This multiplicity of morphologies in the crimped scaffold works in tandem to enable a low-stress response during deployment, which avoids fracture of the PLLA hoops and leaves them with the strength needed to support the artery. Thus, the transformations of the semicrystalline PLLA microstructure during crimping explain the unexpected strength and ductility of the current BVS and point the way to thinner resorbable scaffolds in the future
Crimping-induced structural gradients explain the lasting strength of poly L-lactide bioresorbable vascular scaffolds during hydrolysis
Biodegradable polymers open the way to treatment of heart disease using transient implants (bioresorbable vascular scaffolds, BVSs) that overcome the most serious complication associated with permanent metal stentsâlate stent thrombosis. Here, we address the long-standing paradox that the clinically approved BVS maintains its radial strength even after 9 mo of hydrolysis, which induces a âź40% decrease in the poly L-lactide molecular weight (Mn). X-ray microdiffraction evidence of nonuniform hydrolysis in the scaffold reveals that regions subjected to tensile stress during crimping develop a microstructure that provides strength and resists hydrolysis. These beneficial morphological changes occur where they are needed mostâwhere stress is localized when a radial load is placed on the scaffold. We hypothesize that the observed decrease in Mn reflects the majority of the material, which is undeformed during crimping. Thus, the global measures of degradation may be decoupled from the localized, degradation-resistant regions that confer the ability to support the artery for the first several months after implantation
Crimping-induced structural gradients explain the lasting strength of poly L-lactide bioresorbable vascular scaffolds during hydrolysis
Biodegradable polymers open the way to treatment of heart disease using transient implants (bioresorbable vascular scaffolds, BVSs) that overcome the most serious complication associated with permanent metal stentsâlate stent thrombosis. Here, we address the long-standing paradox that the clinically approved BVS maintains its radial strength even after 9 mo of hydrolysis, which induces a âź40% decrease in the poly L-lactide molecular weight (Mn). X-ray microdiffraction evidence of nonuniform hydrolysis in the scaffold reveals that regions subjected to tensile stress during crimping develop a microstructure that provides strength and resists hydrolysis. These beneficial morphological changes occur where they are needed mostâwhere stress is localized when a radial load is placed on the scaffold. We hypothesize that the observed decrease in Mn reflects the majority of the material, which is undeformed during crimping. Thus, the global measures of degradation may be decoupled from the localized, degradation-resistant regions that confer the ability to support the artery for the first several months after implantation
Characterization and modelling the mechanical behaviour of poly (l-lactic acid) for the manufacture of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds by stretch blow moulding
Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffolds (BVS) manufactured from poly (l-lactic acid) (PLLA) offer an alternative to metal scaffolds for the treatment of coronary heart disease. One of the key steps in the manufacture of these scaffolds is the stretch blow moulding process where the PLLA is biaxially stretched above glass transition temperature (Tg), inducing biaxial orientation and thus increasing ductility, strength and stiffness. To optimise the manufacture and performance of these scaffolds it is important to understand the influence of temperature and strain rate on the constitutive behaviour of PLLA in the blow moulding process. Experiments have been performed on samples of PLLA on a custom built biaxial stretch testing machine to replicate conditions typically experienced during blow moulding i.e. in a temperature range from 70 °C to 100 °C and at strain rates of 1 sâ1, 4 sâ1 and 16 sâ1 respectively. The data is subsequently used to calibrate a nonlinear viscoelastic material model to represent the deformation behaviour of PLLA in the blow moulding process. The results highlight the significance of temperature and strain rate on the yielding and strain hardening behaviour of PLLA and the ability of the selected model to capture it
Experimental characterisation on the behaviour of PLLA for stretch blowing moulding of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds
Processing tubes from poly (l-lactic acid) (PLLA) by stretch blow moulding (SBM) is used in the manufacture of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) to improve their mechanical performance. To better understand this processing technique, a novel experimental setup by free stretch blow inside a water bath was developed to visualise the tube forming process and analyse the deformation behaviour. PLLA tubes were heated, stretched and blown with no mould present inside a temperature-controlled water bath whilst recording the processing parameters (axial force, inflation pressure). The onset of pressure activation relative to the axial stretch was controlled deliberately to produce a simultaneous (SIM) or sequential (SEQ) mode of deformation. Real-time images of the tube during forming were captured using high speed cameras and the surface strain of the patterned tube was extracted using digital image correlation (DIC). The deformation characteristics of PLLA tubes in SBM was quantified by analysis of shape evolution, strain history and stress-strain relationship
Morphological variations in poly (L-Lactic Acid) (PLLA) vascular scaffolds for the treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD)
Poly (L-lactic Acid) (PLLA) is a semicryst. and biocompatible polymer that is used in bioresorbable vascular
scaffolds for the treatment of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). To treat CHD, a PLLA scaffold is deployed in the
occluded artery to restore blood circulation. Implants made of PLLA undergo hydrolysis to form L-lactic acid that
is readily metabolized by the human body, allowing them to harmlessly disappear in two years. The polymer is
subjected to tube expansion and laser cutting before it is crimped onto a balloon. When the crimped scaffold is
in position in the diseased artery, the balloon is inflated to deploy the scaffold. The resulting semicryst.
structure changes over distances of a few microns, requiring X-ray microdiffraction to shed light on the
structural changes that occur in PLLA vascular scaffolds which govern their therapeutic function. Crimping
places the outer bend (OB) of a U-crest under elongation and the inner bend (IB) under compression. X-ray
diffraction patterns indicate highly oriented PLLA crystallites where elongation was imposed (near the OB) and
crystallites tilted out of plane where compression was imposed (at the IB). Between the IB and the OB, there is
an unperturbed region with an orientation similar to the expanded tube. Deployment profoundly alters the
structure created during crimping. The tilting of crystallites at the IB during crimping allows them to gracefully
sep. into diamond shaped voids when the IB is placed under tension during deployment. Consequently, the OB
experiences relatively mild compressive stress during deployment and a highly uniform structure is obsd.
Despite PLLA's reputation as a brittle plastic, the solid state deformation does not fracture the scaffold; rather,
the deployed PLLA scaffold has a high degree of orientation, giving the scaffold the radial strength to hold the
blood vessel open