New thermoreversible liquid embolic agent for embolotherapy: technical report.

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Interventional Radiology
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Thermoreversible gelation polymer (TGP) is a liquid polymer initially developed for tissue engineering.
• TGP transitions from liquid to gel at temperatures above its tunable sol-gel transition temperature (TT).
• This property allows for in-situ gelation at body temperature without requiring solvents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of TGP as a liquid embolic agent for embolotherapy.
• To assess the safety and efficacy of TGP in a preclinical animal model.

Main Methods:

• Renal arteries in six swine were embolized using TGP delivered via a cooling catheter.
• Angiographic assessments were performed at baseline, 3 hours, and 14 days post-embolization.
• Histopathological analysis was conducted on explanted kidneys at 14 days.

Main Results:

• Successful embolization of all target renal arteries was achieved with TGP.
• No acute or chronic clinical complications were observed in the animal subjects.
• Angiography confirmed complete or near-complete occlusion, and histology showed no significant inflammatory response.

Conclusions:

• TGP demonstrates potential feasibility as an embolic material for clinical applications.
• This includes the treatment of conditions such as cerebral arteriovenous malformations, aneurysms, and hypervascular tumors.