Development of novel bioresorbable alginate-based microspheres for embolic applications

This project developed BAM technology to enable GAE on a commercial basis. It addressed challenges by creating custom bioresorbable embolic particles. The Bioresorbable Alginate Embolic Microspheres (BAM) were made from tightly calibrated 200-micron alginate microspheres. These microspheres temporarily blocked small blood vessels in damaged knee areas over a twenty-four to forty-eight-hour period. This allowed enough time to disrupt the degradation cycle before the particles were reabsorbed, restoring the blood supply.

The technology used alginate lyase enzyme encapsulated within the alginate microspheres to control the degradation window. The enzyme worked optimally under physiological conditions, ensuring that BAM degraded effectively in vivo.