Medical implant with porous plasma polymer coating

Abstract

An implant includes a membrane having pores sized in the nanometer range. A surface of the implant is at least partially coated with a plasma polymer. The interior of the pores is uncoated.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An implant comprising a membrane that includes pores sized in the nanometer range, a surface, and a plasma polymer coating, wherein the surface is at least partially coated, and the interior of the pores is uncoated. 
     
     
         2 . The implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the plasma polymer coating includes an antibiotically acting metal. 
     
     
         3 . The implant according to  claim 2 , wherein the plasma polymer coating is free from aldehyde groups. 
     
     
         4 . The implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the pores extend unidirectionally and substantially perpendicularly to a surface of the membrane. 
     
     
         5 . The implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the membrane is formed of material selected from the group consisting of polysulfone, polyarylethersulfone (PAES), polyethersulfone (PES), cellulose ester (cellulose acetate, cellulose triacetate, cellulose nitrate), nanocellulose, regenerated cellulose (RC), silicone, polyamide (nylon), polyimide, polyamide imide, polyamide urea, polycarbonate, ceramic, titanium oxide, aluminum oxide, silicon, zeolite (alumosilicate), polyarylonitrile (PAN), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyvinylchloride (PVC), polypiperazine amide, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), and complexes and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the membrane is an organic membrane. 
     
     
         7 . The implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the pores are stabilized with a stabilizer. 
     
     
         8 . The implant according to  claim 7 , wherein the stabilizer is selected from the group consisting of glycerol, glycerol stearates, glycerol esters, other alcohols, salts, and carbohydrates. 
     
     
         9 . The implant according to  claim 7 , wherein a surface of the membrane is free from the stabilizer. 
     
     
         10 . The implant according to  claim 1 , comprising a reservoir in communication with the membrane to receive an analyte transmitted by the membrane. 
     
     
         11 . The implant according to  claim 10 , comprising a semiconductor sensor exposed to the reservoir opposite the membrane. 
     
     
         12 . The implant according to  claim 11 , wherein the semiconductor sensor comprises a gate of a field-effect transistor (FET). 
     
     
         13 . The implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the plasma polymer coating is sterile. 
     
     
         14 . The implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the plasma polymer coating comprises a masked reactive chemical group. 
     
     
         15 . The implant according to  claim 14 , wherein the masked reactive chemical group comprises an aldehyde group. 
     
     
         16 . The implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the plasma polymer coating is antibiotically active. 
     
     
         17 . The implant according to  claim 1 , comprising a reservoir enclosing a sample volume, the reservoir being substantially closed off or surrounded by a housing, a detector in the reservoir or on a lateral surface thereof, wherein the membrane comprises a selector that selectively admits analyte into the reservoir, 
     
     
         18 . The implant according to  claim 17 , wherein the detector comprises plurality of receptors and a gate of a field effect transistor. 
     
     
         19 . The implant according to  claim 18 , comprising a passivation layer on the gate that saturates non-specific binding sites. 
     
     
         20 . The implant according to  claim 19 , wherein the gate forms a portion of a bottom of the reservoir across from the membrane. 
     
     
         21 . The implant according to  claim 17 , comprising an analyte antagonist in the reservoir and an analyte receptor. 
     
     
         22 . The implant according to  claim 21  wherein the analyte antagonist comprises an artificial and recombinant protein with epitope mapping, which carries a poly-L-lysine modification. 
     
     
         23 . The implant according to  claim 22 , wherein the antagonist and the receptor are molecular biologically modified with replacement amino acids that protect against enzymatic degradation in the body. 
     
     
         24 . The implant according to  claim 23 , wherein the pores are sized to retain the antagonist in the reservoir while admitting analyte into the reservoir. 
     
     
         25 . The implant according to  claim 24 , wherein the antagonist has a larger positive charge than the analyte. 
     
     
         25 . The implant according to  claim 1 , wherein coated portions of the surface comprises a nanoroughness. 
     
     
         26 . The implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the plasma polymer coating is selected from the group consisting of: 
       
         
           
                 
               
                     
                 
                   Atomic composition [%] ± 1 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                   C 
                   O 
                   N 
                   Ti 
                 
                     
                     
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                   65 
                   31 
                   1.9 
                   2.1 
                 
                     
                   71 
                   26 
                   1.5 
                   1.5 
                 
                     
                   72 
                   24 
                   2.5 
                   1.5 
                 
                     
                   89 
                   9 
                   2.0 
                   0.0 
                 
                     
                     
                 
             
                
                
               
            
             
                
                
               
            
             
                
                
                
                
                
               
            
           
         
       
     
     
         27 . The implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the plasma polymer coating comprises a swelling factor in the range of 1.2 to 3.5. 
     
     
         28 . The implant according to  claim 27 , wherein the swelling factor is in the range of 1.5 to 3.0. 
     
     
         29 . The implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the plasma polymer coating has a thickness in the range of 6-24 nm.