as used herein and in the accompanying claims , the term “ bioprosthetic device ” and like terms mean a combination comprised of a biological tissue member and a proteinaceous biopolymer which is chemically bound ( linked ) to the tissue of the tissue member . the accompanying drawing figure shows a segment of a patient &# 39 ; s vertebral column vc wherein vertebral disc bioprosthetics 10 in accordance with the present invention are interposed between adjacent ones of the individual vertebrae v . the vertebral disc bioprosthetics 10 essentially include the fibrillar outer annulus 10 - 1 of the patient &# 39 ; s natural vertebral disc following removal of the gelatinous core . the fibrillar outer annulus 10 - 1 thus bounds and defines an inner cavity into which a proteinaceous biopolymer 10 - 2 is injected in situ . the proteinaceous biopolymer ( usually referred to hereinafter more simply as the “ biopolymer ”) 10 - 2 thus fills completely the void space left following removal of the natural gelatinous core of the patient &# 39 ; s natural vertebral disc . the biopolymer 10 - 2 thus acts as a shock - absorber of sorts similar to the natural functions attributable to the removed gelatinous core . virtually any suitable proteinaceous biopolymer may be employed in the practice of the present invention . in this regard , the term “ proteinaceous biopolymer ” and like terms mean a polymeric or copolymeric material which contains one or more units in the polymer chain comprised of natural , synthetic or sequence - modified proteins or polypeptides , and mixtures and blends of such polymeric and / or copolymeric materials . one especially preferred biopolymer 10 - 2 that may be employed in the practice of this invention is a cross - linked reaction product of a two part mixture initially comprised of : part a : a water - soluble proteinaceous material of about 27 - 53 % by weight of the mixture , and part b : di - or polyaldehydes present in a weight ratio of one part by weight to every 20 - 60 parts of protein present by weight in the mixture and water , optionally containing non - essential ingredients to make up the balance of the composition . part a of the mixture is most preferably substantially an aqueous solution of a proteinaceous material of human or animal origin . albumins including ovalbumins are preferred proteins , and serum albumins of human or animal origin are particularly preferred . the proteinaceous material may be a purified protein or a mixture in which the proteins such as serum albumins are the predominant ingredients . for example , the solid mixtures obtained by dehydration of blood plasma or serum , or of commercial solutions of stabilized plasma proteins , can be used to prepare part a . these mixtures , generally referred to as plasma solids or serum solids , are known to contain albumins as their major ingredients , of the order of 50 - 90 %. as used herein , the term “ plasma ” refers to whole blood from which the corpuscles have been removed by centrifugation . the term “ serum ” refers to plasma which has additionally been treated to prevent agglutination by removal of its fibrinogen and / or fibrin , or by inhibiting the fibrin clot formation through addition of reagents , such as citrate or edta . the proteinaceous material may also contain an effective amount of hemoglobin . part b is substantially an aqueous solution of di - or polyaldehydes . a wide range of these substances exist , and their usefulness is restricted largely by availability and by their solubility in water . for example , aqueous glyoxal ( ethandial ) is useful , as is aqueous glutaraldehyde ( pentandial ). water soluble mixtures of di - and polyaldehydes prepared by oxidative cleavage of appropriate carbohydrates with periodate , ozone or the like are also useful . glutaraldehyde is the preferred dialdehyde ingredient of part b . when parts a and b are brought together , the resultant product rapidly hardens to a strong , flexible , leathery or rubbery material within a short time of mixing , generally on the order of 15 - 30 seconds . the most preferred material for use in the present invention is commercially available from cryolife , inc . of kennesaw , ga . under the registered trademark “ bioglue ”. ( see also , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 385 , 606 , the entire content of which is expressly incorporated hereinto by reference .) the two components a and b noted above are either premixed and then applied , or simultaneously mixed and delivered through an in - line mixing / dispensing tip during the filling of the tissue - defined cavity . upon reaction of the two components , the resulting biomaterial is a hydrogel that adheres to the surrounding tissue , intercalates into the voids of the surrounding tissues , is space filling , and is mechanically and biologically stable for some time . the material may be solid or sponge - like in appearance . furthermore , it may contain organic or inorganic salts or other particulate matter to modify the physical properties of the resulting bioprosthetic device . preferably , the biopolymer 10 - 2 will exhibit compressive strengths of at least 300 kpa ( preferably between about 300 to about 600 kpa ) and compressive moduli of 2 . 5 mpa , and creep moduli of 1 . 0 mpa . the ultimate compressive strength of the biopolymer 10 - 2 can be adjusted by altering the composition of the protein and cross - linker components and / or through the addition of various fillers . as noted previously , the proteinaceous biopolymer that may be employed in the practice of the present invention may be include as on reactable component a natural , synthetic or sequence - modified ( i . e ., so - called “ engineered ”) polypeptides ( e . g ., as disclosed more fully in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 018 , 030 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 374 , 431 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 606 , 019 ; or u . s . pat . no . 5 , 817 , 303 , incorporated fully by reference herein ). thus , although many of the following examples employ albumin , it will be understood by those in this art that other reactable components may be employed satisfactorily . reactable synthetic polymeric components , namely , those which contain functional groups to cause cross - linking ( e . g . polyethylene - glycol polymers derivatized with electrophilic and nucleophilic groups such as amine , succinimidyl , anhydride , thiol ) may also be employed in the practice of the present invention . see in this regard , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 166 , 130 ; u . s . pat . no . 6 , 051 , 648 ; or u . s . pat . no . 5 , 900 , 245 , the entirety of each being expressly incorporated hereinto by reference . nominal compressive mechanical properties that are obtained are similar to those of vertebral discs and lumbar vertebra . the compressive properties of the described biomaterial 10 - 2 are very different from highly rigid materials traditionally used as implantable structural elements such as stainless steel , titanium , polyacrylate bone cements , ceramics or carbon fiber composites , and hence allow for better biomechanical compatibility in selected indications . for example , the bioprosthetic vertebral discs of the present invention exhibit flexibility comparable to the biologically natural vertebral disc . more specifically , the bioprosthetic vertebral discs of the present invention exhibit flexibility comparable to the biologically natural vertebral disc after being subjected to at least about 5 million cycles of a cyclic load of about 0 . 85 mpa the particular properties of the biopolymer 10 - 2 can be “ engineered ” to suit specific end uses . for example , the biopolymer may include fibrous or particulate reinforcement (“ filler ”) material , provided it is biocompatible . thus , natural or synthetic fibers , such as polyesters , nylons , polyolefins , glass and the like of virtually any desired denier may be employed . furthermore , the reinforcing fibers may be used in the form of a continuous length of single fibers ( i . e ., monofilaments ) or a yarn , roving or rope of multiple filaments . moreover , the reinforcing media may be in the form of staple fibers of predetermined lengths which are spun into yarns , rovings and / or ropes of desired denier and continuous length . the mono - or multifilamentary reinforcing materials may also be in the form of woven or non - woven fabric structures . suffice it to say here , that virtually any physical form of fibrous reinforcing material may be satisfactorily employed in the practice of the present invention . the reinforcing material may also be in the form of particulates , such as synthetic or natural organic and inorganic particulate reinforcement materials . some representative examples of such particulates include calcium carbonate , calcium phosphate , hydroxyapatite bone chips , ceramic particles and the like . the present invention will be further described with reference to the following non - limiting examples . a formulation formed of a protein solution ( serum albumin ) and a cross linker ( gluteraldehyde ) was contained in the separate chambers of a delivery device . when the device is triggered , the two components are expelled from their respective chambers into a mixing tip that combines the two solutions and mixes them as they travel over the static mixing elements present in the tip . a medical needle was attached to the mixing tip and the formulation injected into the distal space between the vertebra of an explanted pig spine . the tip can be attached to a needle , catheter , or other hollow tubular device for delivery , for example . after 30 seconds , the needle was withdrawn from the injection site . the material that was injected had polymerized in place and did not exude out of the needle hole . after 2 minutes , the disc - vertebra plate was dissected and the presence of the biomaterial seen . bovine calf spines were obtained from a commercial slaughterhouse and cleaned by blunt and sharp dissection to expose the vertebral bodies and the discs . a 4 mm hole was made into the anterior face of the disc and the drill bit allowed to enter to the center of the nucleus . the nuclear material was removed using surgical forceps and curettes . the hollow space was filled with the formulation described in example 1 . the material that was injected polymerized in place and did not exude out of the hole . after 2 minutes the disc - vertebra plate was dissected and the presence of the biomaterial seen . bovine calf spines were obtained from a commercial slaughterhouse and cleaned by blunt and sharp dissection to expose the vertebral bodies and the discs . the top and bottom of the vertebral bodies were cut parallel to each other at mid - height using a miter box to yield a bone / disc / bone motion segment . a 4 mm hole was made into the anterior face of the disc and the drill bit allowed to enter into the center of the nucleus . the nuclear material was removed using surgical forceps and curettes . the hollow space was filled with the formulation described in example 1 . the material that was injected had polymerized in place and did not exude out of the hole . once polymerization had occurred , the construct could be compressed by hand in the front - back and left - right axes , indicating flexibility was retained after repair of this segment . then , the construct was placed in a biomaterials testing device ( instron electromechanical test station ) and compressed repeatedly to a load of 700 n to condition the construct . thereafter , a constant load of 700 n was applied to measure compressive creep . the load was held for 10 min . during this time , the polymerized material did not exit from the distal space or the hole . a force of 700 n is the published literature value for the load a lumbar spinal disc experiences when a person of average built is standing upright . the experiment was repeated on 5 separate samples . in this example , the motion segment height was measured before removal of the nucleus , after removal of the nucleus , after filling with the biomaterial , and after loading and releasing the load . it was found that ( 1 ) the removal of the nucleus reduced the overall height of the material , as well as the compressibility , ( 2 ) the filling with the biomaterial restored the disc height and the compressibility . a disc of biomaterial formed by injecting a volume of material with the formulation described in example 1 into a cavity mold was compressed for 100 and 1000 cycles at a compression rate of 100 mm / min between a minimum stress of 200 kpa and a maximum stress of either 470 or 800 kpa ( equivalent to a normal lumbar disc , cross sectional area of 1500 mm 2 , loaded between 300 n and 700 or 1200 n ). the disc element did not exhibit fracture , permanent deformation , or demonstrate a loss of hydration ( by mass loss analysis ). a force of 1200 n is the published literature value for the compressive load a lumbar spinal disc experiences when a person of average built flexes forward . bovine calf spines were obtained and prepared as described in example 3 . in this example , the nucleus pulposus was accessed either from an anterior or a posterolateral direction . the constructs were then placed under a cyclic load of 0 . 85 mpa at 5 hz and the load applied for & gt ; 5 million cycles . during this time , the constructs were kept in physiological saline solution containing a non - fixative biocidal agent . at the end of the test period , the constructs were removed and the disc sliced parallel to the end plates to observe the status of the implants . the implant present in the cavity created by the removal of the nucleus pulposus , was intact and flexible . samples of the biomaterial were formed as described in example 4 . the biomaterial was then placed under a cyclic load of 0 . 5 mpa at approximately 2 hz and the load applied for either & gt ; 5 million cycles or & gt ; 10 million cycles . during this time , the constructs were kept in physiological saline solution containing a non - fixative biocidal agent . the test samples remained intact throughout the duration of the test , and demonstrated & lt ; 10 % loss in original height . while the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment , it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment , but on the contrary , is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims .
bioprosthetic devices include an exterior biological tissue member which at least partly defines a cavity , and a proteinaceous biopolymer which fills the cavity , and intercalates and is chemically bound to the tissue of the surrounding biological tissue member . in preferred forms , the bioprosthetic device is a bioprosthetic vertebral disc having a fibrillar outer annulus which surrounds and defines an interior cavity and is formed by removal of at least a substantial portion of the natural gelatinous core therefrom . the cavity defined by the fibrillar outer annulus may then be filled with a flowable proteinaceous biopolymer . preferably , the proteinaceous biopolymer is a liquid mixture comprised of human or animal - derived protein material and a di - or polyaldehyde , which are allowed to react in situ to form a cross - linked biopolymer within the cavity . the liquid mixture may be formed in advance of being introduced into the cavity , or may be formed simultaneously during introduction into the cavity .