Biologically active material

Abstract

The invention relates to a heterophasic composition which essentially consists of three immiscible components, A, B and C, and the production method of the same. The component A is some body compatible polymer, the component B is a water soluble or hydrolytically degradable substance which produces cavities or network like porosity after disappearing through solubilization or degradation, and a bioactive substance C which at least component B contains in form of particles as a blend component and which still exists in the pores or their walls after the degradation or solubilization of the component B. The materials according to the invention are biocommpatible, solid in normal temperatures, mechanically processable, and thermally mouldable as well as bioactive in the sense that they have the capability to renew different kinds of tissues in the body, on the surface of the living organisms, in the cavities of the body and in the tissue engineering conditions outside the body, and that they can be used in tissue engineering , in tissue regeneration, in healing of damaged or lacking tissues, in tissue guiding when treating deficiencies, in controlled drug release, in the treatment methods of dentistry, in orthopedics and in plastic surgery.

1 . A biologically active implant material, which can be plasticized and moulded by hand or by using a tool or through injecting, and which consists essentially of three immiscible components A, B and C, blended together to form a heterophasic mixture, wherein A is a bio-compatible plastic, B is a water-soluble or hydrolytically degrading polymer, and C is a particle-formed bioactive substance, characterized in that 
 the polymeric components form dispersed or interpenetrating phase structures,    component B is capable of forming, through hydrolysis or solubilization, cavities or porosity of network character in the matrix polymer formed by component A, and    component C is blended into component A or component B or both, so that after immediate or gradual solubilization or degradation of component B, the particles of component C are located in the open porous structure formed, in the matrix polymer phase, on the walls of the pores or on the outer surface of the material.    
   
   
       2 . A material according to the  claim 1 , characterized in that component A is a biocompatible polymer, selected from derivatives of methacrylic acid, acrylic acid and vinylpyrrolidone, polyolefins, polylactones, polycarbonates, polyanhydrides, polyorthoesters, and copolymers of the above mentioned, and polymers and copolymers based on units derived from hydroxyacids.  
   
   
       3 . A material according to the  claim 1 , characterized in that component B is polyethylene oxide, polyvinylalcohol, a polymer or copolymer derived from hydroxyacids, polylactone, polyanhydride, polyorthoester, or some natural polymer selected from sugars, starch, cellulose and cellulose derivatives, polysaccharides, polypeptides and proteins.  
   
   
       4 . A material according to the  claim 1 , characterized in that component B is an aqueous solution of a polymer or polymers, or is water or a salt solution.  
   
   
       5 . A material according to the  claim 1 , characterized in that component C is a bioactive substance in form of particles, such as are bioactive glass, hydroxyapatite, choral based material, grinded bone or cell structure based on living organisms.  
   
   
       6 . A material according to the  claim 1 , characterized in that component C is blended into component B or into both component A and component B.  
   
   
       7 . A material according to the  claim 1 , characterized in that the composition is capable of being thermally melting and solidifying, or softening when heated, so that it can be shaped by hand or by suitable tools.  
   
   
       8 . A material according to the  claim 1 , characterized in that the composition is chemically hardening.  
   
   
       9 . A material according to the  claim 1 , characterized in that the composition is a solid material at normal temperatures so that it can be machined to different forms or thermally processed to free forms.  
   
   
       10 . A material according to the  claim 1 , characterized in that the composition is bioactive in the sense that it has the capability to renew different kinds of tissues in living organism, on the surface of a living organism, in body conditions and in the tissue engineering conditions outside the body.  
   
   
       11 . A material according to the  claim 1 , characterized in that the proportion of component A in the composition is 5-99.5 volume-%, the proportion of component B in the composition is 1-95 volume-%, and the proportion of component C in the composition is 0.05-95 volume-% so that the sum of the proportions is 100%.  
   
   
       12 . A material according to the  claim 1 , characterized in that the volume fraction of the pores in the material is 0.05-95 volume-%, and the diameter of the pores is 0.000 1-3 millimeters.