Polyurethanes and polyolefins are examples of useful polymers for various implantable biomedical devices. To ensure long term performance and help prevent explantation, these materials should be very stable when implanted in the body as, for example, insulation of leads associated with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators. The two main chemical processes that compromise the integrity of implantable polyurethanes are hydrolysis and oxidative degradation. Both of these reactions ultimately lead to molar mass loss and concomitant degradation of material properties. Cracking, erosion, and ultimate device failure can result. In this talk I will present our work on new hydrolytically and oxidatively stable polymers using ring-opening metathesis polymerization strategies. The talk will focus on the design of a new monomer, its polymerization in the presence of a chain transfer agent and/or other comonomers, and characterization of the resultant polymers. The stability of these materials and related ring-opening metathesis routes to other interesting polymers from substituted cyclooctenes will also be covered.

Oxidatively robust polymers for implantable biomedical devices

256th National Meeting (2018)

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