NEW CLASS OF ANTI-ADHESION HYDROGELS WITH HEALING ASPECTS

摘要

Disclosed are hydrogels polymerized with a biofunctional moiety, biodegradable and permanent, designed to be implantable in a mammalian body and intended to block or mitigate the formation of tissue adhesions. The hydrogels of the present invention are characterized by comprising four structural elements: a) a polymeric backbone which defines the overall polymeric morphology, b) linkage groups, c) side chains, and d) biofunctional end groups. The hydrophobicity of the various structural elements are chosen to reduce tissue adhesion and enhance the biofunctional aspect of the end groups. The morphology of these polymers are typically of high molecular weight and have shape to encourage entanglement. Useful structures include branching chains, comb or brush, and dendritic morphologies.