PRODUCTION OF THERMOREVERSIBLE HYDROGELS FOR THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS

摘要

A method is disclosed for production of a sterile thermoreversible hydrogel characterized by a known temperature Tmin at which the viscosity reaches at least a local minimum. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the method comprises dissolving the components in water within ±4° C. of Tmin; forming the thermoreversible hydrogel; and filtering the thermoreversible hydrogel at Tmin. The final sterilization can be obtained by filtering under aseptic conditions or by autoclaving or irradiation of the final product. In other embodiments, the components of the gel are dissolved in a sufficiently large quantity of water that reduces the gel viscosity or precludes formation of a thermoreversible hydrogel, and sufficient water is then removed under vacuum to produce the final thermoreversible hydrogel.