Method for making a reinforced balloon with composite materials

1. A method for making a reinforced balloon for a balloon catheter comprising the steps of: blending a matrix of polymer with a nano composite selected from one of carbon nanotubes, a nano clay or nano-ceramic fibers together with a lubricant to aid dispersion of the nano composite during blending of the matrix; controlling the volume or weight percent of nano composite in the matrix relative to the polymer such that the nano composite is between 0.20% and 20% by volume or weight of the matrix and the polymer is between 80% and 99.80% by volume or weight of the matrix; controlling the “wetting” of the nano composite in the matrix with the lubricant; and then extruding a desirable parison from the blended matrix followed by blow molding the parison into a balloon and wherein said nano composite are nano tubes and during the blow molding of the matrix, the nano tubes are oriented generally axially with respect to an elongate axis of the balloon.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the polymer and nano composite matrix is formed by dispersing the nano composite to a monomer matrix followed by polymerization of the monomer and nano composite matrix.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the polymer and nano composite matrix is formed by dispersing the selected nano composite in the matrix during melt compounding of the matrix.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said balloon is formed by cutting a polymer and nano composite sheets of specific thickness, fusing the sheets into tubes whose wall thickness is considerably greater than necessary for making the balloon followed by drawing down the tubes formed by the laminated sheets to desired dimensions to form a thermoplastic tube and forming the balloon by heating the thermoplastic tube made from the laminated sheets under internal pressure while blow molding.

5. The method of claim 1 comprising the further step of fusing a plastic tubing to at least one end of the balloon made of a nano composite and polymer to form a balloon catheter.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the polymer is selected from one of nylon 12 or PET.

7. A method for making a reinforced balloon for a balloon catheter comprising the steps of: blending a matrix of polymer with a nano composite selected from one of carbon nano-tubes, a nano clay or nano-ceramic fibers together with a lubricant to aid dispersion of the nano composite during blending of the matrix; controlling the volume or weight percent of nano composite in the matrix relative to the polymer such that the nano composite is between 0.20% and 20% by volume or weight of the matrix and the polymer is between 80% and 99.80% by volume or weight of the matrix; controlling the “wetting” of the nano composite in the matrix with the lubricant; and then extruding a desirable parison from the blended matrix followed by blow molding the parison into a balloon and wherein said nano composite are nano ceramic fibers and during the blow molding of the matrix, the nano ceramic fibers are oriented generally axially with respect to an elongate axis of the balloon.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the polymer and nano composite matrix is formed by dispersing the nano composite to a monomer matrix followed by polymerization of the monomer and nano composite matrix.

9. A method for making a reinforced balloon for a balloon catheter comprising the steps of: blending a matrix of polymer with a nano composite selected from one of carbon nano-tubes, a nano clay or nano-ceramic fibers together with a lubricant to aid dispersion of the nano composite during blending of the matrix; controlling the volume or weight percent of nano composite in the matrix relative to the polymer such that the nano composite is between 0.20% and 20% by volume or weight of the matrix and the polymer is between 80% and 99.80% by volume or weight of the matrix; controlling the “wetting” of the nano composite in the matrix with the lubricant; and then extruding a desirable parison from the blended matrix followed by blow molding the parison into a balloon and wherein the nano-ceramic fibers are alumina fibers.

10. The method of claim 9 including the steps of: extruding the polymer and nano composite matrix into a thin wall tube that is subsequently heat stretched in a controlled manner to further reduce a wall thickness of the tube to desired dimensions, followed by blow molding the stretched tube into a desired balloon shape.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the polymer and nano composite matrix is formed by dispersing the nano composite to a monomer matrix followed by polymerization of the monomer and nano composite matrix.

12. A method for making a reinforced balloon for a balloon catheter comprising the steps of: blending a matrix of polymer with a nano composite selected from one of carbon nano-tubes, a nano clay or nano-ceramic fibers together with a lubricant to aid dispersion of the nano composite during blending of the matrix; controlling the volume or weight percent of nano composite in the matrix relative to the polymer such that the nano composite is between 0.20% and 20% by volume or weight of the matrix and the polymer is between 80% and 99.80% by volume or weight of the matrix; controlling the “wetting” of the nano composite in the matrix with the lubricant; and then extruding a desirable parison from the blended matrix followed by blow molding the parison into a balloon and wherein the polymer and nano composite matrix comprising nano tubes or nano ceramic fibers is rolled and stretched to orient the nano-tubes or nano ceramic fibers in one direction and then a tube are is formed such that the nano-tubes or nano ceramic fibers are originally oriented tangentially in a wall of the tube which is then blowmolded into the balloon with the nano-tubes or nano ceramic fibers oriented tangentially in a wall of the balloon.

13. A method for making a reinforced balloon for a balloon catheter comprising the steps of: blending a matrix of polymer with a nano composite selected from one of carbon nano-tubes, a nano clay or nano-ceramic fibers together with a lubricant to aid dispersion of the nano composite during blending of the matrix; controlling the volume or weight percent of nano composite in the matrix relative to the polymer such that the nano composite is between 0.20% and 20% by volume or weight of the matrix and the polymer is between 80% and 99.80% by volume or weight of the matrix; controlling the “wetting” of the nano composite in the matrix with the lubricant; and then extruding a desirable parison from the blended matrix followed by blow molding the parison into a balloon and wherein wetted platelets of nano clay in the nano composite are dispersed in the matrix and are oriented whereby the platelets can slide with respect to one another to provide more elastic behavior in a plane parallel to the platelets and a more stiff behavior in an orthogonal direction of the platelets.

14. A method for making a reinforced balloon for a balloon catheter comprising the steps of: blending a matrix of polymer with a nano composite selected from one of carbon nano-tubes, a nano clay or nano-ceramic fibers together with a lubricant to aid dispersion of the nano composite during blending of the matrix; controlling the volume or weight percent of nano composite in the matrix relative to the polymer such that the nano composite is between 0.20% and 20% by volume or weight of the matrix and the polymer is between 80% and 99.80% by volume or weight of the matrix; controlling the “wetting” of the nano composite in the matrix with the lubricant; and then extruding a desirable parison from the blended matrix followed by blow molding the parison into a balloon and wherein the nano composite includes nano tubes or nano ceramic fibers and the stretched tube is formed with the nano-tubes or ceramic fibers oriented primarily along the axis of the balloon.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the balloon is formed by extruding a polymer and nano composite matrix into a thin wall tube that is subsequently heat stretched in a controlled manner to further reduce a wall thickness of the tube to desired dimensions, followed by blow molding the stretched tube into a desired balloon shape.