Title:Patent Survey on Current Applications of Supercritical Fluid Technology in Regenerative Medicine
Volume: 5
Issue: 1
Author(s): Carlos A. Garcia-Gonzalez, Luis A. Diaz-Gomez, Angel Concheiro and Carmen Alvarez-Lorenzo
Affiliation:
Keywords:
3D-scaffolds, porous materials, regenerative medicine, supercritical CO2, supercritical foaming, supercritical
sterilisation.
Abstract: New production insights are being prospected for regenerative medicine
purposes to tackle current implant problems encountered regarding supply scarcity as
well as infection and rejection episodes. Supercritical fluid technology emerges as a
promising green solvent-based option for the high throughput production of solventfree
scaffolds compatible with the incorporation of thermally-labile compounds. A patent survey on the evolution (from
the first patent on the topic in 1991 to present) of the state-of-the-technique on scaffold production using supercritical
fluids is presented in this work. Role of supercritical fluids in these patents has been classified into three groups:
preparation of synthetic scaffolds, treatment and purification of tissues, and post-treatment of medical devices. Key
processing parameters for each manufacturing technique are identified as well as their main possibilities, advantages and
limitations.
