| ABSTRACT |
An angioplasty balloon is a medical device that is inserted into a clogged artery and is subsequently inflated to dilate the blocked vessel and allow the flow of blood. The inflation of an angioplasty balloons to a predetermined size and shape is crucial due to the variability of the morphology and properties of vascular stenosis. Therefore, the material used to manufacture the balloon thereby requires certain criteria such as inflation profile and burst strength pressure within certain range for successful compliance with the surgical procedure. The advances in balloon design and technology have provided increased flexibility to designers of medical devices, making the development of new and improved devices possible. In recent years, commercial balloons are typically made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyamides, polyurethanes, and thermoplastic elastomers which are widely used in angioplasty balloon applications. These materials are known to have characteristics that suit balloon applications which are high tensile strength, high elongation and low flexural modulus. However, some of the materials are quite expensive and in the ever competitive world of the medical device industry, cost reduction without the loss in component integrity is a desirable goal. Thus, the objective of this project is to develop a range of mechanically and thermally enhanced nanocomposite polymeric systems which can potentially be used as replacements materials for existing high pressure catheter balloon devices.
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