CA2132368A1

CA2132368A1 - Wound implant materials

Info

Publication number: CA2132368A1
Application number: CA002132368A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Peter Stuart Arnold
Original assignee: Peter Stuart Arnold; Johnson & Johnson Medical, Inc.
Current assignee: Ethicon Inc
Priority date: 1993-09-21
Filing date: 1994-09-19
Publication date: 1995-03-22
Also published as: TW358738B; GB9319447D0; ES2154284T3; DE69426440T2; EP0648480A3; PT648480E; IN181994B; ATE198137T1; US5766631A; EP0648480A2; ZA947063B; EP0648480B1; GB2281861B; JP3034769B2; JPH07204261A; AU692457B2; GB2281861A; KR950007879A; DE69426440D1; AU7300794A

Abstract

ABSTRACT
WOUND IMPLANT MATERIALS
Wound implant materials are described comprising a plurality of bioabsorbable microspheres bound together by a bioabsorbable matrix, such as in a freeze-dried collagen matrix. The microspheres preferably comprise over 30% of the volume of the material, and preferably have diameters of 10 µm to 1500 µm. The microspheres and/or the matrix preferably comprise a polylactic/polyglycolic copolymer, collagen, cross-linked collagen, hyaluronic acid, cross-linked hyaluronic acid, an alginate or a cellulose derivative. The resulting implants are stronger and more slowly resorbed than conventional collagen sponge implants.
Better control over the porosity of the implant is achieved.

Description

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WOIJND IMPI~NT MATERIALS ~"
The present invention relates to novel bioabsorbable materials for use as or in wound implants, and to methods of , preparation of those materials.
Healing of cavity wounds depends on the production by the wound of substantial quantities o~ matrix materials and granulation tissue as natural ~iller, and the de~
keratinization and migration of cells at the periphery of the wound across the moist surface o~ the neoangiogenic 10 matrix. Currently, such wounds are treated with dressings -~
designed to maintain a moi~t environment and to prevsnt fluid loss, infection, adherence and trauma. Additionailly, alginates and hydrocolloids have been used to absorb excess exudate and contribute to granulation induction. These materials have the obvious disadvantage that they are not designed to be 'absorbed' by the wound and therefore must be removed from the cavity, usually with irrigation and disruption of wound reparation.
An effective alternative to alginates and hydrocolloids would be similar materials constructed from absorbable biomaterials with a determined pharmacological fate that could be left in situ throughou~ and after wound healing. Hitherto, the materials suggested for this purpose have included bioabsorbable sponge~ formed by freeze-drying solutions or suspensions of bioabsorbable pol~ners.
Advantageously, these bioabsorbable polymers are natural biopolymers such as ~ollagen, fibrin, fibronectin or hyaluronic acid. Such materials are not only highly biocompatible and biodegradable, but they can also assist 30 wound healing by promoting the proliferation of fibroblasts, ~ ;
and by promoting angiQgenesis.
For example, US-A-4970298 (Frederick H. Silver et alJ
describes a biodegradable collagen matrix suitable for use as a wound implant. The matrix is ~ormed by freeze drying a dispersion containing collag~n, crosslinking the collagen via two crosslinking steps and freez~-drying the crosslinked matrix. The matrix may also contain hyaluronic acid and fibronectin.
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23~8 . JJM--79 W090~00060 (Collagen Corporation) describes collagen implants that are formed by flash freezing and then freeze-drying a suspension of cvllagen fibrils without chemical cross-linking. The implants have a bulk density of 0.01 to i-0.3 g/cm3 and a pore population in which at least about 80%
of the pores have an av~rage pore size of 35 to 250 ~m.
This wound healing matrix also serves as an effective s~stained de7ivery system for bioactive agents. ~ .j EP-A~0274898 (Ethicon Inc.) describes an absorbable implant material hav~ing an open cell, foam-like structure and formed from resorbable pGlyasters, such as poly-p~ -dioxanone, other polyhydroxycarboxylic acids, polylactides or polyglycolides. The open-cell plastic matrix is reinforced with one or more reinforcing elements of a textile nature formed from a resorbable plastic and embedded in the matrix. The open-cell plastic matrix is made by freeze-drying a solution or suspension of the plastic material in a non-aqueous solvent. The pore size of the open-cell plastic matrix is from 10 to 200 ~m.
JP-A-03023864 (Gunze KK) clescribes a wound implant material comprising a collagen sponge matrix reinforced with fibres of poly-L-lactic acid. The collagen spong~ matrix is formed by freeze drying a solution of porcine atherocollagen. :~
The above bioabsorbable sponge implants are formed by freeze-drying solutions or suspensions of a bioabsorbable material in a solvent. However, it is generally difficult ~`~
to control the pore size and overall density of sponge materials made in this way. Normal freeze-drying procedures 30 result in sponges having large pores and low density. Such :~
sponges are weak, and tend to be resorbed too quickly to be suitable in practice for use as wound implants. The physical weakness of the sponges has been addressed by embedding bioabsorbable reinforring fibres in the sponge matrix, but the reinforcing fibres cannot prevent the rapid braakdown and resorption of the sponge matrix in situ.
The rate of resorption o~ the freeze-dried sponges has ty~pically been reduced by chemical cross-linking of the i~ ~ 3 2 3 6 8 JJM-79 . , ~ 3 polymer making up the sponge. For example, the collagen in a collagen sponge can be cross linked with carbodiimide or glutaraldehyde to make it insoluble and to reduce the rate of breakdown of the collagen by collagenase present at the wound site. This ch~mical cross-linking by its very nature makes the collagen less biocompatible and less wound-friendly. Moreover, even with cross linking, it is difficult to obtain a controlled and optimised rate of cellular invasion and resorption of the implant.
Some control over the pore size and density of freeze-dried sponges can be achieved by varying parameters such as the concentration of the starting solution or suspension and the rate of freezing. Smaller pore sizes can be ob ained by "flash-~reezing" the solution or suspension, since this results in the formation of smaller ice crystals in the froz~n solution. However, even flash-freezing followed by freeze drying results in a sponge of quite low bulk density, with highly disperse pore sizes typically in the range of 35 to 250 ~m.
Accordinyly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bioabsorbable wound implant material that has high strength and controlled porosity.
The present invention provides a wound implant material comprising a plurality of bioabsorbable microspheres bound together by a bioabsorbable matrix. The term "bioabsorbable microspheres" refers to substantially spherical particles of one or more bioabsorbable materials.
Preferably, the degree of non-sphericality of the particles, as defined by the average ratio o~ the largest diameter to the smallest diameter of each particle, is less than 2.0, more preferably less than 1.5 and most preferably less than 1.2. A ratio of 1.0 would correspond to perfectly spherical particles. The microspheres may be solid or hollow, or may comprise microcapsules encapsulating a solid, liquid or gel comprising a pharmacologically active substance, a biopolymer or a growth factor. The microspheres need not be of uniform size, but prefarably at least 90% of the microspheres have diameters- between 50 ~m and 1500 ~m.

~1 3~3~8 -: - JJM--7 9 : 4 More preferably, at laast 90% of the microspheres have diametars between 200 ~m and 1000 ~m. Most prefer~bly, at least 90% of the microspheres have diameters between 500 ~m ~ -and 800 ~m.
The bioabsorbable matrix may be a solid or a semi-solid such as an aqueous gel of a biopolymer. Pre~erably, the matrix is a bioabsorbable colid obtained by air drying or freeze-drying a gel solution or suspension of a bioabsorbable polymer in a solvent. The bioabsorbable matrix may comprise the same material as the microspheres, or may comprise oth~r materials.
It can thus be seen that the wound implant materials according to the present invention are aggregates of solid microspheres bound together by the bioabsorbable matrix material. Preferably, the materials c~ntain at least 30% by volume of 1:he microspheres. More preferably, the materials contain at least 40% by volume, and most preferably at least 50~ by volume of the microspheres. It will be appreciated that, based on closest packing of spheres, the materials may 20 contain up to 72% by volume of ~micro~pheres of identical ~ -size, and a still higher fraction by volume if the microspheres are size disperse.
The porosity of the materials according to the present invention may b~ controlled both hy varying the size of the microspheres and by varying the volume fraction of the microspheres in the material. Average pore æizes in the range 50 ~m-250 ~m have been described as optimal for tissue ingrowth.
The pre~erred material for the bioabsorbable matrix is collagen in solid, gel or sponge form. The volume of the bioabsorbable matrix is not more than 70% of the total volume of the material according to the present invention.
Preferably, the bioabsorbable matrix does not occupy the whole o~ the interstitial space between the microspheres, but instead is concentrated in the region of contact between microspheres, where it functions as a glue to hold the microspheres together. Pre~erably, the bioabsorbable matrix materials do not comprise more-than 20% by volume and/or 20%

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by weight of the materials according to the present invention, and more preferably ~hey do not comprise more than 10% by volume and/or ~0% by weight of the materials.
Preferably~ the microspheres and/or the matrix comprise one or more ~ioabsorbable polym~rs independently selected from the group consisting of polymers or copolymers of lactic acid and/or glycolic acid~ collagen, cross-linked collagen, hyaluronic acid, cross-linked hyaluronic acid, an alginate or a cellulose derivative. Preferably, the microspheres or the matrix, or both, additionally contain pharmaceutically active compounds such as fibronectin, a cytokine, a growth factor, an antiseptic, an antibiotic, a steroid or an analgesic.
The wound implant materials according to the present invention may be reinforced by including fi~res or a mesh of a suitable bioabsorbable polymer such as polylactic/polyglycolic acid or oxidised regenerated cellulose.
It will also be appreciated that single pieces of the materials according to the present invention can be made with more than one porosity. For example, a layered structure could be made by builcling up layers containing microspheres of different sizes, thereby giving dif~erent porosities in dif~erent layers of the materialO
The wound implant materials according to the present invention c~n be cut into any suitable shape for use as or in a wound implant.
The present invention also ~ncompasses a method of making a wound implant material as described above, comprising the steps of preparing bioabsorbable microspheres; dispersing the bioabsorbable microspheres in a solution or suspension of a bioabsorbable material in a solvent; and removing the solvent by evaporation.
Preferably, the solvent is removed by freeze drying.
The mlcrospheres may b~ made by any of the methods known in the art O These methods are reviewed, for example, by R.C. Oppenheim in Polymeric Particles and Microspheres ~uiot and Couvreur, editors, Chapter I, pp 1~25 (CRC Prass, . ,-.`. :,, :.,, .' .'., . ~ - . ... ..

~132368 JJM-79 1986). The most commonly used method comprises di~persing a water-insoluble bioabsorbable polymer in a nonaqueous, volatile solvent, followed by mixing the solvent with water and an emulslfier, emulsifying the mixture and then 5 evaporating the solvent under reduced pressure. Cross- -linking agents and/or pharm~ceutically active compounds may be included in the emulsio~. ~2thods o making bioabsorbable microspheres are also describ~d in US-A-3092553, EP-A 0119076, EP-A-0351296, W091/06286 and W091/15193. The as-prepared microsphere~ are qenerally ~ize disperse~ having diameters in the range 0.01 ~m to 1500 ~m.
It is generally found that larger microspheres suitable for the practice of the present inventiQn are obtained from water-in-oil emulsion by cross-linking and evaporation.
Smaller microspheres are obtained from oil-in-water emulsions.
Large biopolymer microspheres suitable for the practice of the present invention may also be obtained by the extrusion of a laminar ~low of an aqueous dispersion of the biopolymer. The laminar flow is then broken up by vibrations into droplets, which :Eall into a cross-linking bath to form the cross linked microspheres.
Specific techniques for forming biopolymer microspheres in the size range o~ interest f3r the present 25invention are described in detail in EP-A-0381543 and W092/02254. Biopolymer microspheres suitable for the practice of the present invention may be obtained from Bioetica, 32 Rue Saint~Jean-de-Dieu, 69007 Lyon, France~ :
under the Trade Mark "Type A Collaspheres".
30Preferred size ranges can be isolated by filtration:~
or c~ntri~ugation.
An embodiment of the present invention will now b~ :~
described further~ by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, which shows a schematic cross-section 35 through a material according to the present invention. ~;
E m~le 1 A cross-linked ester of hyaluronic acid prepared as described in EP-A-026511~ ~Fidia SpA) is dissolved in a ~13236~
; 7 volatile organic solvent and fibrous collagen is added to the resulting solution. The solution is emulsified in water using gelatin as the emulsifier. The organic solvent is removed under reduced pressure at room temperature to leave a suspansion of hyaluronic acid ester/collagen microspheres dispersed in the water. Microspheres in the size range 600 ~m-~OO~m are isolated by filtration, dried, and mixed into a 7% collagen/water gel. The mixture is then fr2ez~-dried and cut into 5 cm x 5 cm x 0.5 cm doses. The density o~ the material is 50 mg/cm3, of which 3 mg/cm3 is the collagen matrix and 47 mg/cm3 is the microspheres.
The reticulation of the resulting implant material is assessed by electron microscopy. This shows con~istent pore sizes of between 50 and 250 ~m.
A cross-section through resulting implant material is shown schematically in Figure 1. Referring to the Figure, thQ implant material 1 comprises microspheres 2 stuck together by the collagen matrix 3. The matrix 3 does not fill the whole of the interstitial space between the microspheres, but leaves the pores between the microspheres substantially open.
Example 2 A wound implant material i~ prepared as in Example 1, with addition of hyaluronic acid at a concentration of 0.1 to 2 mg/cm3 based on the weight of the dry finished material, to the collagen/water gel. The resulting material benefits rom the chemotactic effect of hyaluronic acid assisting cellular ingrowth.
The materials prepared as above have a more consistent pore size than conventional bioabsorbable sponge implants.
This allows more precise control of cellular ingrowth and rate of resorption in situ. The bulk density of the materials according to the present invention (10-100 mg/cm3) may be made higher than that of conventional freeze-dried sponges depending on the application, resulting in a stronger and more slowly absorbed implant. Furthermore, the rate of absorption of the microspheres can be tailored within a wide range. Thi~ allows, for example, the ~13 2 3 6 8 JJM--79 `i"' 8 preparation of implants that are absorbed more slowly than a conventional freeze-dried collagen sponge.
The above examples are intended for the purpose of illustration only. Many other embodiments falling within the scope of the accompanying claims will be apparent to the skilled reader.

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Claims

1. A wound implant material comprising a plurality of bioabsorbable microspheres bound together by a bioabsorbable matrix.

2. A wound implant material according to claim 1 wherein the microspheres comprise at least 30% of the volume of the material.

3. A wound implant material according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the microspheres comprise at least 40% of the volume of the material.

4. A wound implant material according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the microspheres comprise at least 50% of the volume of the material.

5. A wound implant material according to any preceding claim wherein the matrix is a solid material.

6. A wound implant material according to claim 5, wherein the matrix material is freeze-dried.

7. A wound implant material according to any preceding claim, wherein the microspheres comprise hollow microspheres or microcapsules.

8. A wound implant material according to any preceding claim wherein the microspheres and/or the matrix are the same or different and comprise a polymer or copolymer of lactic acid and/or glycolic acid, collagen, cross-linked collagen, hyaluronic acid, cross linked hyaluronic acid, an alginate or a cellulose derivative.

9. A wound implant material according to any preceding claim wherein the microspheres and/or the matrix comprise fibronectin, a cytokine, a growth factor, an antiseptic, an antibiotic, a steroid or an analgesic.

10. A wound implant material according to any preceding claim wherein at least 90% of the microspheres have diameters between 50 µm and 1500 µm.

11. A wound implant material according to claim 10 wherein at least 90% of the microspheres have diameters between 200 µm and 1000 µm.

12. A wound implant material according to claim 11, wherein at least 90% of the microspheres have diameters between 500 µm and 800 µm.

13. Use of a wound implant material according to any preceding claim for the preparation of medicament for the treatment of wounds.

14. A process of preparing a wound implant material according to any of claims 1 to 9, comprising the steps of:
preparing bioabsorbable microspheres;
dispersing the bioabsorbable microspheres in a solution or suspension of a bioabsorbable material in a solvent; and removing the solvent by evaporation.

15. A process according to claim 14, wherein the solvent is removed by freeze-drying.