Microporous/Drug Delivery Medical Balloons

A thin-walled Medical Balloon can be converted to a microporous membrane with hole sizes ranging from submicron to a few microns in diameter. Hundreds of thousands or even millions of holes can be placed in a single medical balloon. This provides an even better method of drug delivery because the pore size can be controlled precisely, enabling very small amounts of a drug to be infused over a well-defined area as large or as small as required. This is critical with drugs that are both expensive and toxic. Although these medical balloons contain millions of micro pores, they are surprisingly very strong due to the material’s unique structure.

This photograph shows the balloon membrane "weeping" medication. When in use, the medication spreads in a thin film between the balloon membrane and the tissue forcing the medication into and around the cell walls.

Photo courtesy of e-Med

The SEM (Scanning Electron Photomicrograph) shows the number, scale, and uniformity of the micro pores formed in a balloon membrane. There can be hundreds of thousands or millions of these in a single balloon membrane. The holes shown here are about 0.5 microns in diameter.

Photo courtesy of e-Med

In fact, the medical balloons can still be used for angioplasty. While the inflated medical balloon dilates the afflicted area, it can also infuse medication, perhaps delivering an anticoagulant onto the vessel’s wall. Drug absorption and penetration into the vessel wall can be controlled by the rate of fluid flow across the membrane and the pressure the fluid is delivered at. By controlling the hole size and pattern, the fluid flow can be governed and directed.

This illustration shows a multifunctional microporous balloon being used for both angioplasty and drug delivery.

Photo courtesy of e-Med