Absorv™ — bioabsorbable extrusions

The Absorv™ bioabsorbable products from Zeus can safely exist in the human body for controlled periods of time before they are absorbed without causing any harm or negative interactions. Such products are more appropriate for a wide range of medical applications and offer an alternative to conventional metal components or polymers.

Zeus collaborates with its customers to design innovative bioabsorbable polymers to fulfill accurate degradation rates and other specifications.

The majority of bioabsorbable devices available on the market are made up of polyesters, chiefly homopolymers and copolymers of polyglycolic acid (PGA) and poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA). Moreover, copolyesters of ε-caprolactone, p-dioxanone and trimethylene carbonate have also been commercialized. Zeus constantly strives to raise the standards for its bioabsorbable and other product range.

The Zeus advantage: Technology and capabilities

Zeus’ formulations and bioabsorbable material processing abilities are the most sophisticated in the industry. The company extrudes such biomaterials into high-precision tubular geometries, sheets, monofilament and microporous non-woven materials.

Zeus carries out complete polymer characterization to offer the required data to fulfill regulatory needs. The company’s abilities include formulation, tight tolerance extrusion, customization, advanced materials science, controllable degradation profiles and numerous combinations of products.

The role of bioabsorbables in typical medical applications

The Absorv™ bioabsorbable polymers from Zeus targets the development of an extensive range of medical products for both disease treatment and preventive care. Such materials can safely exist in the body before being absorbed for a finite and controllable length of time. Since these materials are bioabsorbable, there is no related stress shielding as generally observed in permanent and long-term implants.

With a stable growth and interest in bioabsorbables, applications are invariably emerging and expanding. Zeus is at the forefront of such advancements and works with customers to reach their exact product goals.

Applications

Dental — As far as teeth are concerned, bioabsorbable products play a critical role in different requirements, such as scaffolding, dry socket treatment and packing.

Long-term or controlled rate of drug release — Since such devices can be customized to have a prolonged lifetime, they are perfect vehicles through which drugs and other therapeutic agents can be delivered in a controlled and sustained manner.

Orthopedic — Zeus’ bioabsorbables are particularly relevant to broken bones and corresponding fracture treatments. Bone augmentation, pins and screws, fracture fixation plates and bioabsorbable nails, when used as scaffolding, serve as superior candidate applications for bioabsorbable products.

Support for tissue in-growth — Zeus’ bioabsorbables can be used directly in the body and they provide the support for stimulating and promoting the in-growth of new tissues to speed up healing.

Surgical — In the case of serious injuries or more invasive procedures, Zeus’ bioabsorbable materials offer many different options not only to improve the treatment but also to speed up the recovery process; these include treatments spanning from wound closure — such as adhesives, skin staples, sutures and suture anchors — to ligament repair, adhesion barriers, antineoplastic delivery, drug delivery, hemostasis clips, ligating clips and temporary radio-opaque markers.

Stents — Zeus’ bioabsorbable materials can be utilized for a wide range of stents, such as coronary, vascular, ureteral, esophageal, biliary, etc.

Tissue engineering — Since these products are biocompatible, Zeus’ bioabsorbable range is suitable for tissue engineering, for example, for producing 3D structure; molded, extruded vascular graft scaffolding or electrospinning; directed nerve regeneration, bowel and ureteral anastomosis, ex-vivo tissue engineering scaffolds and percutaneous devices with restricted in-growth.

Key properties

Ability to match degradation profile with healing profile — Customizing the degradation rate of a bioabsorbable material product enables physicians to more closely match its duration inside the body with the rate of new growth of tissues. Such corresponding rates support the differentiation of tissues and boost the benefit of the implantable device.

Absence of stress shielding (Osteopenia) — Permanent and long-term implants can generally lead to loss of bone density, or osteopenia, because of reduced stress experienced by the impacted bone that has been absorbed by the implant. Since implants integrating Zeus’ bioabsorbable products dissipate with time, the density of bones is less likely to be impacted and thus leads to enhanced recovery.

Controlled degradation and bioabsorption — The potential to regulate the degradation rates of Zeus’ biomaterial products offers flexibility for numerous treatment options spanning from acute to longer-term therapy.

Controlled load transfer — In the case of dental implants, the interface with bone plays a vital role in how the implant is accepted and works for long-term well-being. By regulating the degradation speed of implants made with Zeus’ bioabsorbable materials, the stresses often linked with such implants are decreased.

Cost-effective compared to metal equivalents — Instead of more costly metal implantable devices, Zeus’ bioabsorbable materials present a relatively practical option for such health care applications.

FDA-approved for medical devices — Zeus’ bioabsorbables are utilized in FDA-approved medical devices.

Finite functionality — Since Zeus can regulate the degradation rates of these products, patients are less likely to experience undesirable interactions and discomfort from such devices.

No explantation surgery — As Zeus’ bioabsorbables are gradually absorbed into the body, a second surgery is no longer needed to eliminate an implanted device made with biodegradable products.

No metal corrosion-related interactions with the body — Since such biocompatible products are not based on metals, they do not pose any risk of corrosion while the implanted material is being absorbed.

Provides novel and alternate IP position — With this ever-growing field of absorbable and biocompatible medical devices, Zeus’ bioabsorbables present an excellent opportunity for novel applications, invention and intellectual property development.

Safely existing in the body — Zeus’ bioabsorbable products can exist safely in the body for prolonged periods and do not cause any adverse outcomes that are often seen in implanted metals.

Tailored to customer’s specifications — Zeus’ bioabsorbable products can be tailored to fulfill a broad spectrum of specifications, such as numerous extruded forms, sizes, material strengths, and molded designs.