Shan Li, 4712228 Brittania Cir, Germantown, MD 20874

2017008, Mar 23, 2017

May 7, 2015

15/330815

Matthew L. BECKER - Stow OH, US
Shan LI - Cuyahoga Falls OH, US

The University of Akron - Akron OH

C08G 71/02
A61L 27/18
A61L 27/56

In one or more embodiments, the present invention provides iodine-functionalized phenylalanine-based poly(ester urea)s (PEUs) (and related methods for their synthesis and use) that are metal free, degradable, radiopaque and suitable for use in surgical implants and other medical devices used within a patient. In one or more embodiment of the present invention 4-Iodo-L-phenylalanine and L-phenylalanine are separately reacted with 1,6-hexanediol to produce two monomers, bis-4-I-L-phenylalanine-1,6-hexanediol-diester (1-IPHE-6 monomer) and bis-L-phenylalanine-1,6-hexanediol-diester (1-PHE-6 monomer). It has been found that by varying the feed ratio of the 1-IPHE-6 and 1-PHE-6 monomers, the copolymer composition may be modulated to predictably create phenylalanine-based PEUs having a wide variation in thermal, mechanical and radiopacity properties. As most medical device procedures require placement verification via fluoroscopic imaging, materials that possess inherent X-ray contrast are valuable for a number of applications.