Chapter category: BioMaterials
Commercial Production of Polyurethanes
Biomedical Applications of Polyurethanes
Edited by: Patrick VermetteISBN: 1-58706-023-X
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Chapter authors:
Stéphane Lévesque, Denis Rodrigue, Patrick Vermette, and Pathiraja Gunatillake
As discussed in the preceding Chapter, polyurethanes (PUs) involve relatively complexchemistry and synthesis procedures compared to other conventional polymers used in biomedical applications. To meet the task of engineering PU–based devices and implants that fulfil the requirements of a particular application, understanding how devices and implants are commercially produced is imperative. What process equipment companies need to manufacture PUs products? How materials can be shaped in their end–used configuration? What sterilization process could be applied to PU–based products? Although a general overview of the physicochemical properties of model PUs (laboratory–scale) was highly important for the scope of this book (Chapter 1), the answer to these questions is also mandatory. To begin with, this Chapter provides a review of the commercial polyurethanes that have been used in biomedical applications. A detailed history of PU materials, including both biomedical and industrial chronology, highlights the importance of this family of polymers in medicine. Some key events are retraced but the chronology is necessarily incomplete due to the breadth of the field. We believe that it is very important to summarize how and more importantly why PU technology evolved over time. Special care has been taken to retrace the main events of PU history which originate mainly from the scientific literature and/or patents rather than from personal communication. The present Chapter also provides terminology for some commercial PUs, their chemistry and major companies involved in the field. The main processing methods for converting PU raw materials to configured articles are discussed, together with a general overview of the key parameters that dictate the quality of the final products. We refer the reader to other appropriate polymer literature (such as Szycher's Handbook of Polyurethanes, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1999) for further technical information. In addition, this Chapter covers sterilization processes for PU devices and components. Finally, a list of commercial polyurethanes used in biomedical applications is provided (Table 4).
Additional chapters from this book:
The Future of Polyurethanes
Robert Guidoin and Hans J. Griesser
Where would implantology and the biomedical devices industry be today if it were not for synthetic polymeric biomaterials such as polyurethanes? While "natural" biopolymers such as reconstitut...
Biomedical Applications of Polyurethanes
Mylène Bergeron, Stéphane Lévesque, and Robert Guidoin
Polyurethanes (PUs) represent a very broad family of polymers. They have earned an enviable and irreplaceable position within the medical industry. The applications of PUs are limitless. Ho...
Surface Modification of Polyurethanes
Hans J. Griesser
Why perform surface modification of polyurethanes (PUs) when numerous publications and patents claim "biocompatible" and "blood compatible" PUs? The simple answer is that some claims are exagg...
Developments in Design and Synthesis of Biostable Polyurethanes
Pathiraja A. Gunatillake, Gordon F. Meijs, and Simon J. McCarthy
Synthetic elastomers are frequently the materials of choice for the construction ofimplantable medical device componentry. To function effectively, the chemical and mechanical properties of...
Biomedical Degradation of Polyurethanes
Patrick Vermette, Stéphane Lévesque, and Hans J. G
As discussed in the preceding Chapter, polyurethanes (PUs) generally show relatively acceptable biological responses, which have frequently led to statements that they are biocompatible. Ho...
Biocompatibility of Polyurethanes
Yves Marois and Robert Guidoin
In the last 50 years, the development and the conception of biomaterials used for the construction of prostheses and medical devices has expanded very rapidly. A wide variety of biomaterial...
Additives in Biomedical Polyurethanes
Nathalie Dubé, Sahar Al–Malaika, Gaétan Laroche, and Patrick Vermette
In the preceding Chapter, industrial production of polyurethanes (PUs) was covered. The main industrial processes and sterilization techniques that apply to biomedical polyurethanes were discu...
Commercial Production of Polyurethanes
Stéphane Lévesque, Denis Rodrigue, Patrick Vermette, and Pathiraja Gunatillake
As discussed in the preceding Chapter, polyurethanes (PUs) involve relatively complexchemistry and synthesis procedures compared to other conventional polymers used in biomedical applications....
Synthesis, Physicochemical and Surface Characteristics of Polyurethanes
Martin Castonguay, Jeffrey T. Koberstein, Ze Zhang, and Gaétan Laroche
This Chapter constitutes the starting point that will bring the reader to the other subjects discussed in this book as, for example, the biological response and biostability related to polyure...
