Jackson Nathan, Verbrugghe Peter, Cuypers Dieter, Adesanya Kenneth, Engel Leeya, Glazer Piotr, Dubruel Peter, Shacham-Diamand Yosi, Mendes Eduardo, Herijgers Paul, Stam Frank
IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2015 Feb;62(2):399-406. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2014.2353933. Epub 2014 Sep 4.
Smart hydrogels for biomedical applications are highly researched materials. However, integrating them into a device for implantation is difficult. This paper investigates an integrated delivery device designed to deliver an electro-responsive hydrogel to a target location inside a blood vessel with the purpose of creating an occlusion. The paper describes the synthesis and characterization of a Pluronic/methacrylic acid sodium salt electro-responsive hydrogel. Application of an electrical bias decelerates the expansion of the hydrogel. An integrated delivery system was manufactured to deliver the hydrogel to the target location in the body. Ex vivo and in vivo experiments in the carotid artery of sheep were used to validate the concept. The hydrogel was able to completely occlude the blood vessel reducing the blood flow from 245 to 0 ml/min after implantation. Ex vivo experiments showed that the hydrogel was able to withstand physiological blood pressures of > 270 mm·Hg without dislodgement. The results showed that the electro-responsive hydrogel used in this paper can be used to create a long-term occlusion in a blood vessel without any apparent side effects. The delivery system developed is a promising device for the delivery of electro-responsive hydrogels.
用于生物医学应用的智能水凝胶是经过大量研究的材料。然而，将它们集成到植入装置中却很困难。本文研究了一种集成递送装置，其设计目的是将一种电响应性水凝胶递送至血管内的目标位置，以形成阻塞。本文描述了一种普朗尼克/甲基丙烯酸钠盐电响应性水凝胶的合成与表征。施加电偏压会减缓水凝胶的膨胀。制造了一种集成递送系统，用于将水凝胶递送至体内的目标位置。利用绵羊颈动脉的体外和体内实验来验证这一概念。植入后，水凝胶能够完全阻塞血管，使血流量从245毫升/分钟降至0毫升/分钟。体外实验表明，该水凝胶能够承受>270毫米汞柱的生理血压而不发生移位。结果表明，本文中使用的电响应性水凝胶可用于在血管中形成长期阻塞，且无任何明显副作用。所开发的递送系统是一种用于递送电响应性水凝胶的有前景的装置。
