Angioplasty balloon improved with graphene
View Patent ↗Inflatable medical balloons are disclosed herein. The inflatable medical balloons include balloon walls that are reinforced with graphene. The balloon walls can include any number of layers and one or more of the layers may include graphene. Catheters including the medical balloons are also disclosed in addition to methods for manufacturing the inflatable medical balloons.
1. An inflatable medical balloon comprising:
a balloon wall defining a balloon interior portion and a balloon exterior portion, wherein the balloon wall comprises an inner layer and an outer layer, wherein the outer layer comprises graphene, and wherein the balloon wall excludes a polymer matrix.
2. The inflatable medical balloon of claim 1 , wherein the inner layer comprises a member selected from the group consisting of silicone, polyethyleneterephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyurethane, polyamides, polyester, latex, natural rubber, synthetic rubber, polyether block amides, and any mixture thereof.
3. The inflatable medical balloon of claim 1 , wherein the graphene is selected from the group consisting of pure graphene, modified graphene, and any combination thereof.
4. The inflatable medical balloon of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the balloon wall is from about 50 nm to about 40 μm.
5. A balloon catheter comprising:
a shaft having a proximal portion extending to a distal portion and a lumen formed therethrough; and
the inflatable medical balloon of claim 1 mounted at the distal portion of the shaft, the balloon interior portion being in fluid communication with the lumen of the shaft.
6. The balloon catheter of claim 5 , wherein the inflatable balloon is mounted at the distal portion of the shaft using heat bonding, an adhesive, or a heat shrink tube.
7. An inflatable medical balloon comprising:
a balloon wall defining a balloon interior portion and a balloon exterior portion, wherein the balloon wall consists essentially of graphene; wherein the graphene is selected from the group consisting of pure graphene, modified graphene, and any combination thereof.
8. The inflatable medical balloon of claim 7 , wherein the balloon wall consists of graphene.
9. The inflatable medical balloon of claim 7 , wherein the balloon wall comprises a number of layers, at least one of the number of layers consisting essentially of graphene.
10. The inflatable medical balloon of claim 9 , wherein at least one layer consists of graphene.
11. The inflatable medical balloon of claim 7 , wherein a thickness of the balloon wall is from about 50 nm to about 1,000 nm.
12. A balloon catheter comprising:
a shaft having a proximal portion extending to a distal portion and a lumen formed therethrough; and
the inflatable medical balloon of claim 7 mounted at the distal portion of the shaft, the balloon interior portion being in fluid communication with the lumen of the shaft.
13. The balloon catheter of claim 12 , wherein the inflatable balloon is mounted at the distal portion of the shaft using heat bonding, an adhesive, or a heat shrink tube.
14. An inflatable medical balloon comprising:
a balloon wall defining a balloon interior portion and a balloon exterior portion, wherein the balloon wall comprises an inner layer and an outer layer, wherein the inner layer comprises graphene, and wherein the balloon wall excludes a polymer matrix.
15. The inflatable medical balloon of claim 14 , wherein the outer layer comprises a member selected from the group consisting of silicone, polyethyleneterephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyurethane, polyamides, polyester, latex, natural rubber, synthetic rubber, polyether block amides, and any mixture thereof.
16. The inflatable medical balloon of claim 14 , wherein the outer layer comprises graphene, further wherein the graphene is selected from the group consisting of pure graphene, modified graphene, and any combination thereof.
17. The inflatable medical balloon of claim 14 , wherein a thickness of the balloon wall is from about 50 nm to about 1,000 nm.
18. A balloon catheter comprising:
a shaft having a proximal portion extending to a distal portion and a lumen formed therethrough; and
the inflatable medical balloon of claim 14 mounted at the distal portion of the shaft, the balloon interior portion being in fluid communication with the lumen of the shaft.