INDUSTRY NEWS
Recently developed shape-memory polymers can assume three consecutive shapes in response to temperature changes. Consisting of two plastics with unique melting points, the material holds its initial shape at room temperature, and, when heated, a portion of the polymers softens, enabling the material to change to a transitional shape. If the temperature is allowed to increase further, the rest of the material will begin to soften as well, allowing the material to take an additional shape. The shape changes of the so-called “triple-shape” polymer are not required to be unidirectional. Previously developed shape-memory polymers were only able to form two shapes.
The material was developed by an international research team from the GKSS Research Centre of Biomaterial Development (Teltow, Germany) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA, USA). According to Andreas Lendlein, head of the GKSS lab, the plastics could eventually be suitable for medical applications such as self-closing fasteners and stents that expand upon implantation. The stents made of triple-shape polymers could assume an additional shape during removal from the body. A summary of the research responsible for the polymer development can be found in the 28 November 2006 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States of America.
GKSS is working with mNemoscience GmbH (Aachen, Germany) to bring the technology to the market. The company is currently working on commercializing a suture that ties itself when heated.
For more information, contact GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht GmbH, Centre for Biomaterial Development, Kantstr. 55, 14513 Teltow, Germany; phone: +49 3328 352450; fax: +49 3328 352452; e-mail: andreas.lendlein@gkss.de; Internet: www.gkss.de.
