Patent ID: 9446167
Filing Date: 2016-09-20
CPC Classification: A61F,A61L,C08G

Claim Text:
1. A method for intervertebral disc regeneration, comprising delivering to or into a human or other mammalian vertebral disc in vivo, a liquid composition comprising an aqueous solvent having suspended therein: a) a biocompatible thermally-desolubilizable (TD) polymer that exists in an extended form below a critical solution temperature (CST) that is lower than the normal body temperature of the mammal and in a condensed form at or above the CST; b) an aminated component of a mammalian extracellular matrix (ECM), in a releasable encapsulated form, wherein the aminated component is releasable from the encapsulated form within the body of the mammal; and c) a polymeric component of a mammalian ECM, the polymeric component bearing functional moieties capable of forming covalent bonds with amine moieties, whereby when the composition is delivered to the vertebral disc, the polymer is transformed from its extended form to its condensed form, the aminated component is released from its encapsulated form, and the polymeric component binds with the aminated component, thereby forming a disc-replacing or disc-supplementing matrix.