title: Fully biodegradable airway stents using amino alcohol-based poly(ester amide) elastomers.
abstract: Airway stents are often used to maintain patency of the tracheal and bronchial passages in patients suffering from central airway obstruction caused by malignant tumors, scarring, and injury. Like most conventional medical implants, they are designed to perform their functions for a limited period of time, after which surgical removal is often required. Two primary types of airway stents are in general use, metal mesh devices and elastomeric tubes; both are constructed using permanent materials, and must be removed when no longer needed, leading to potential complications. This paper describes the development of process technologies for bioresorbable prototype elastomeric airway stents that would dissolve completely after a predetermined period of time or by an enzymatic triggering mechanism. These airway stents are constructed from biodegradable elastomers with high mechanical strength, flexibility and optical transparency. This work combines microfabrication technology with bioresorbable polymers, with the ultimate goal of a fully biodegradable airway stent ultimately capable of improving patient safety and treatment outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Biomedical Engineering Center, Mail Stop 32, 555 Technology Square, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, The David H. Koch Institute, Room 76-661, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307, USA.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Kyle G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Boutin
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Abdulhadi
authors.forename: Lyndia D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Personnat
authors.forename: Tarek
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shazly
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Langer
authors.forename: Colleen L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Channick
authors.forename: Jeffrey T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Borenstein
mesh_terms: D000605:Amino Alcohols / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D020724:Elastomers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008049:Lipase / Q000378:metabolism; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D015607:Stents; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D000605:Amino Alcohols; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020724:Elastomers; D011108:Polymers; D008049:Lipase; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases
keywords: airway stents; biodegradable; elastomer; implant; polymer