We are honored to be part of this Symposium memorializing the accomplishments of Joseph C. Salamone, inventor and innovator extraordinaire, and dedicate our presentation to his memory. This work began in the 1970-ies when JPK decided to emulate Michael Szwarc’s epochal discovery of living anionic polymerization of olefins, by developing <u>living </u><u>cationic polymerization</u> of isobutylene, an olefin that cannot be polymerized by anionic means. To accomplish this objective took over 10 years of dedicated research by JPK and coworkers. By the mid 1980-ies the objective was reached and polyisobutylenes not only with precisely predictable molecular weights having narrow dispersities were synthesized but also well-defined telechelic polyisobutylenes and polyisobutylene block polymers, such as poly(styrene-b-isobutylene-b-styrene) (SIBS). SIBS has no cleavable groups and the polyisobutylene backbone prevents embrittlement and cracking under flexion. LP will focus on the practical consequences of this basic discovery and will outline four medical devices enabled by living cationic polymerization: (1) The world's most successful drug eluting stent coated by SIBS (TAXUS, Boston Scientific Corporate Research, Marlboro, MA, United States} that prevents restenosis; (2) PRESERFLO MicroShunt (Santen Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Osaka, Japan), based on the discovery that SIBS provokes insignificant inflammation and encapsulation in the eye, the MicroShunt lowers intraocular pressure and stops the progression of vision loss from glaucoma; (3) Crosslinked polyisobutylene intraocular lens (Xi'an EyeDeal Medical Technology Co., Ltd. Xi'an, China) that eliminates glistening and halos; and (4) Crosslinked SIBS heart leaflet valves (Polynova Cardiovascular Inc. Stony Brook, NY, United States) that allows percutaneous implantation of heart valves. We foresee a rich future of polyisobutylene-based biomaterials as polyisobutylene is the most bioinert, enzymatically, hydrolytically and oxidatively stable synthetic elastomer known to man.

From basics to experiments and products; and unto the marketplace: An early history of polyisobutylene in medicine

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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