Bioabsorbable coating for a surgical article

Claim 2

A surgical article having improved knot repositioning characteristics, the article comprising a multifilamentary strand, the strand having a bioabsorbable coating, the coating comprising a block copolymer having one or more A blocks solely manufactured from the monomer caprolactone, and one or more B blocks manufactured from the monomer caprolactone randomly copolymerized with one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of lactides, carbonates and a lactone other than caprolactone, the total caprolactone linkages in the copolymer being more than 50 to about 80 percent by weight of said copolymer.

Claim 3

An article of claim 1 wherein the caprolactone is ε-caprolactone.

Claim 4

An article of claim 1 wherein the caprolactone in the one or more A blocks is up to 70 percent by weight of the copolymer.

Claim 5

An article of claim 3 wherein the caprolactone in the one or more A blocks is about 40 percent by weight of the copolymer.

Claim 6

An article of claim 1 wherein the one or more B blocks are manufactured from caprolactone and glycolide.

Claim 7

An article of claim 5 wherein the glycolide in the one or more B blocks comprises up to 50 percent by weight of the copolymer.

Claim 8

An article of claim 5 wherein the glycolide in the one or more B blocks comprises up to about 65 percent by weight of said B blocks.

Claim 9

An article of claim 1 wherein the inherent viscosity of the copolymer is about 0.1 to 1.0 dl/g (0.5 g/dl in CHCl 3 , 30° C.).

Claim 10

An article of claim 7 wherein the inherent viscosity of the copolymer is about 0.4 to 0.8 dl/g (0.5 g/dl in CHCl 3 , 30° C.).

Claim 11

An article of claim 1 wherein the surgical article is bioabsorbable.

Claim 12

An article of claim 10 wherein the bioabsorbable surgical article is a suture or ligature.

Claim 13

An article of claim 11 wherein the suture or ligature is manufactured from a polymer prepared from one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of lactides, carbonates and lactones.

Claim 14

An article of claim 12 wherein the suture or ligature is manufactured from a homopolymer prepared from the monomer glycolide.

Claim 15

An article of claim 12 wherein the suture or ligature is manufactured from a polymer prepared from at least the monomer lactide.

Claim 16

An article of claim 12 wherein the suture or ligature is manufactured from a copolymer prepared from the monomers glycolide and 1,3-dioxan-2-one.

Claim 17

An article of claim 14 wherein the suture or ligature is manufactured from a copolymer prepared from the monomers glycolide and lactide.

Claim 18

An article of claim 12 or 14 wherein the coating comprises about 1/10 to 5% by weight of the coated suture or ligature.

Claim 19

An article of claim 17 wherein the coating comprises about 1/4 to 3% by weight of the coated suture or ligature.

Claim 20

A surgical suture or ligature having improved knot repositioning characteristics, comprising a bioabsorbable, multifilamentary strand manufactured from a polymer prepared from one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of glycolide, lactide, 1,3-dioxan-2-one and 1,4-dioxane-2-one, the strand having a bioabsorbable coating, the coating comprising a block copolymer having one or more A blocks comprising caprolactone, wherein the caprolactone in the one or more A blocks is about 40 percent by weight of the copolymer, and one or more B blocks manufactured from the monomer caprolactone randomly polymerized with one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of lactides, the total caprolactone linkages in the copolymer being about 70 percent by weight of said copolymer, wherein the coating comprises about 1/10 to 5 percent by weight of the coated suture or ligature.

Claim 21

A surgical suture or ligature having improved knot repositioning characteristics, comprising a bioabsorbable, multifilamentary strand manufactured from a polymer prepared from one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of glycolide, lactide, 1,3-dioxan-2-one and 1,4-dioxane-2-one, the strand having a bioabsorbable coating, the coating comprising a block copolymer having one or more A blocks comprising caprolactone, wherein the caprolactone in the one or more A blocks is about 40 percent by weight of the copolymer, and one or more B blocks manufactured from the monomer caprolactone randomly polymerized with one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of lactides, the total caprolactone linkages in the copolymer being about 70 percent by weight of said copolymer, wherein the coating comprises about 1/10 to 5 percent by weight of the coated suture or ligature.

Claim 22

A suture or ligature of claim 19 wherein the one or more B blocks are manufactured from caprolactone and glycolide.

Claim 23

A suture or ligature of claim 20 wherein the inherent viscosity of the copolymer is about 0.4 to 0.8 dl/g (0.5 g/gl in CHCl 3 , 30° C.).

Claim 24

A suture or ligature of claim 21 wherein the coating comprises about 1/4 to 3% by weight of the coated suture or ligature.

Claim 25

A surgical suture or ligature having improved knot repositioning characteristics, comprising a bioabsorbable, multifilamentary strand manufactured from a polymer prepared from one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of glycolide, lactide, 1,3-dioxan-2-one and 1,4-dioxan-2-one, the strand having a bioabsorbable coating, the coating comprising a block copolymer having one or more A blocks comprising caprolactone, wherein the caprolactone in the one or more A blocks is about 40 percent by weight of the copolymer, and one or more B blocks manufactured from one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of lactides, carbonates and a lactone other than caprolactone, the total carprolactone linkages in the copolymer being about 70 percent by weight of said polymer, wherein the coating comprises about 1/10 to 5 percent by weight of the coated suture or ligature.

Claim 26

A surgical suture or ligature having improved knot repositioning characteristics, comprising a bioabsorbable, multifilamentary strand manufactured from a polymer prepared from one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of glycolide, lactide, 1,3-dioxan-2-one and 1,4-dioxan-2-one, the strand having a bioabsorbable coating, the coating comprising a block copolymer having one or more A blocks comprising caprolactone, wherein the caprolactone in the one or more A blocks is about 40 percent by weight of the copolymer, and one or more B blocks manufactured from one or more monomers selected from the group consisting of lactides, carbonates and a lactone other than caprolactone, the total carprolactone linkages in the copolymer being about 70 percent by weight of said polymer, wherein the coating comprises about 1/10 to 5 percent by weight of the coated suture or ligature.

Claim 27

A suture or ligature of claim 23 wherein the one or more B blocks are manufactured from glycolide and 1,3-dioxan-2-one.

Claim 28

A suture or ligature of claim 24 wherein the inherent viscosity of the copolymer is about 0.1 to 04. dl/g (0.5 g/gl in CHCl 3 , 30° C.).

Claim 29

A suture or ligature of claim 25 wherein the coating comprises about 1/4 to 3% by weight of the coated suture or ligature.