Patents by Inventor Lisa A. Pruitt

Lisa A. Pruitt has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Plasma-assisted surface modification of polymers for medical device applications
    Patent number: 6685743
    Abstract: The surface of a high molecular weight polymer such as high molecular weight polyethylene is modified in a localized manner by treatment with a plasma gas. The treatment produces a variety of useful results, depending on the gas used and the treatment conditions. One such result is crosslinking of the polymer in a localized manner at the surface to improve the durability of the surface against detrimental processes such as reorientation and alignment of the crystalline lamellae parallel to the contact surface which renders the surface susceptible to disintegration into particles. Another result is the chemical transformation of the surface for purposes such as increasing the hydrophilic or hydrophobic nature of the surface or coupling functional groups to the surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2004
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Kyriakos Komvopoulos, Catherine M. Klapperich, Lisa A. Pruitt, Stephen L. Kaplan
  • Plasma-assisted surface modification of polymers for medical device applications
    Publication number: 20030040807
    Abstract: The surface of a high molecular weight polymer such as high molecular weight polyethylene is modified in a localized manner by treatment with a plasma gas. The treatment produces a variety of useful results, depending on the gas used and the treatment conditions. One such result is crosslinking of the polymer in a localized manner at the surface to improve the durability of the surface against detrimental processes such as reorientation and alignment of the crystalline lamellae parallel to the contact surface which renders the surface susceptible to disintegration into particles. Another result is the chemical transformation of the surface for purposes such as increasing the hydrophilic or hydrophobic nature of the surface or coupling functional groups to the surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2002
    Publication date: February 27, 2003
    Applicant: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Kyriakos Komvopoulos, Catherine M. Klapperich, Lisa A. Pruitt, Stephen L. Kaplan
  • Plasma-assisted surface modification of polymers for medical device applications
    Patent number: 6379741
    Abstract: The surface of a high molecular weight polymer such as high molecular weight polyethylene is modified in a localized manner by treatment with a plasma gas. The treatment produces a variety of useful results, depending on the gas used and the treatment conditions. One such result is crosslinking of the polymer in a localized manner at the surface to improve the durability of the surface against detrimental processes such as reorientation and alignment of the crystalline lamellae parallel to the contact surface which renders the surface susceptible to disintegration into particles. Another result is the chemical transformation of the surface for purposes such as increasing the hydrophilic or hydrophobic nature of the surface or coupling functional groups to the surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2002
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Kyriakos Komvopoulos, Catherine M. Klapperich, Lisa A. Pruitt, Stephen L. Kaplan