the present invention relates to a combination of n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone ( nmp ) and resorbable polymers or copolymers . the invention is based on the unexpected realization that by combining a resorbable matrix material and nmp in a certain ratio , an implant having osteogenic properties is achieved . the implant thus induces bone growth due to the osteogenic properties of the polymer composition and enhances bone healing after osteotomies and bone fractures . the implant forms include , but are not limited to , membranes , films , plates , mesh plates , screws , taps or other formed pieces . the implant can be prepared for example of polyglycolide , polylactides , polycaprolactones , polytrimethylenecarbonates , polyhydroxybutyrates , polyhydroxyvalerates , polydioxanones , polyorthoesters , polycarbonates , polytyrosinecarbonates , polyorthocarbonates , polyalkylene oxalates , polyalkylene succinates , poly ( malic acid ), poly ( maleic anhydride ), polypeptides , polydepsipeptides , polyvinylalcohol , polyesteramides , polyamides , polyanhydrides , polyurethanes , polyphosphazenes , polycyanoacrylates , polyfumarates , poly ( amino acids ), modified polysaccharides ( like cellulose , starch , dextran , chitin , chitosan , etc . ), modified proteins ( like collagen , casein , fibrin , etc .) and their copolymers , terpolymers or combinations or mixtures or polymer blends thereof . polyglycolide , poly ( l - lactide - co - glycolide ), poly ( d , l - lactide - co - glycolide ), poly ( l - lactide ), poly ( d , l - lactide ), poly ( l - lactide - co - d , l - lactide ), polycaprolactone , poly ( l - lactide - co - caprolactone ), poly ( d , l - lactide - co - caprolactone ) polytrimethylenecarbonate , poly ( l - lactide - co - trimethylenecarbonate ), poly ( d , l - lactide - co - trimethylenecarbonate ), polydioxanone and copolymers , terpolymers and polymer blends thereof are highly preferred polymers . polylactide / polyglycolide / trimethylene carbonate copolymer ( pla / pga / tmc ), with a composition of 80 / 10 / 10 , granulates were compression moulded to form a film with a thickness of 0 . 2 mm . used compression temperature was 180 ° c . and pressure 130 bar . from the film 10 rectangular pieces were cut , each with a width of 20 mm . the weight of the individual film pieces were measured with balance with an accuracy of 1 mg . the film pieces were then immersed individually into nmp for 30 seconds . after immersion the film pieces were air dried for 20 minutes and the weight of the pieces was measured again . the weight of the film pieces before and after immersion into nmp are shown in table 1 . the average amount of nmp diffused into polymeric film was 44 . 19 %. this rabbit study shows the osteogenetic effect of pla / pga / tmc and pldla / pla / tmc membranes when treated with nmp . the details of the tested membranes can be found in the following table 2 . the study design included eight rabbits with four 6 - mm artificial craniotomy defects each . the defects were treated with biodegradable membranes and a commercial biodegradable osseoquest membrane as shown in table 2 . controls treated without any membranes were included , too . the matrixes of the resorbable membranes are also presented in table 2 . the rabbits were sacrificed 4 weeks after the operation and the calvarial bone excised . thorough histological analysis was performed in order to assess the degree and type of bone regeneration . fig1 a to 1 c illustrate examples of some histological sections from the middle of the defect . it is clearly evident that the bone formed during the 4 - week repair phase is more a cancellous bone than a cortical bone . a cellular interaction with the membrane was not observed . fig2 shows the percentage of a full - thickness repair of rabbit calvarial bone defects . the middle sections of the defects , 6 mm in diameter in the calvarial bone were evaluated . the percentage of repair was determined by pixel number of the defect filled with bone × 100 / pixel number of the defect area . the different membranes are specified by name . ‘ control ’ means the defect without the application of a membrane . evaluation of the level of a full - thickness repair of the bone defect revealed that the use of membranes improved bone healing . the percentage of repair without a membrane , i . e . ‘ control ’, was 31 . 3 ± 4 . 1 % of the defect area of the middle section . essential improvement of bone healing as compared with the control was achieved with osseoquest ( 55 . 78 ± 9 . 9 %), and e1m - 11 nmp ( 77 . 6 ± 8 . 8 %). a direct comparison of bone healing enhanced by osseoquest and e1m - 11 nmp shows a clearly better healing with e1m - 11 nmp . furthermore , e1m - 3nmp shows a healing effect essentially similar to osseoquest . as shown in fig2 the membranes of the present invention , i . e . e1m - 3 nmp and e1m - 11 nmp , increase markedly the healing response in the defect as compared with the membranes with an identical polymeric composition , i . e . e1m - 3 , e1m - 11 , that do not comprise nmp . according to one embodiment of the method of the present invention , nmp is added to the polymer matrix that has been already fashioned into the form of a medical implant . polymer compositions were prepared by dry - mixing commercially available granular - form base materials with commercially available copolymer additives . the material composition was 80 wt -% p ( l / dl ) la ( 70 / 30 ) and 20 wt -% plla / tmc ( 70 / 30 ). the components were weighed according to a desired weight ratio into a container which was then rotated in a turbula t2f shaker mixer for 30 minutes until a homogenous dry mixture was obtained . the resulting mixture was then dried in vacuum at 60 ° c . for 8 to 12 hours and thereafter melt - blended and injection - moulded in to plate - shaped test pieces . the injection - moulding machine used was a fully electric fanuc roboshot alpha i30a injection - moulding machine with a mould clamping force of 300 kn . the injection unit was equipped with high speed ( max . 66 cm 3 / s to 330 mm / s ), high pressure ( max . 2500 bar ) injection options . the barrel diameter was 16 mm and it was equipped with three - band heater zones , a standard profile anticorrosion screw and a standard open nozzle with a 2 . 5 mm hole . the extruder melt - blending and homogenization conditions of the material during the metering phase of the process included a back pressure of 40 to 60 bar , a screw speed of 60 to 100 rpm and barrel temperatures of 160 to 230 ° c . injection moulding conditions included a nozzle temperature of 180 to 230 ° c ., an injection speed of 80 to 300 mm / s , a maximum injection pressure of 2500 bar , a pack pressure of 1000 to 2300 bar for 3 to 8 s , a cooling time of 10 to 22 s and a mould temperature of 20 to 30 ° c . the total cycle time was 20 to 40 s consisting of the following phases during one injection - moulding process cycle : closing of the mould , injection of the molten polymer into the mould , pack pressure , cooling while extruder was metering for the next cycle during cooling phase , opening the mould and ejection of article from the mould . the plates were sterilized by gamma irradiation with a nominal dose of 25 kgy . after sterilisation , the plates were submerged in nmp ( 1 - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidinone , 99 %, acros organics , inc ., usa ) for 30 seconds . after submerging the plates were set for 30 minutes on a plastic holder at room conditions at 20 ° c . thickness , length and mass of the plates were measured before submerging and 30 minutes thereafter . dimensions were measured with a slide gauge and mass with an analysis balance . additionally , 30 , 60 and 120 minutes after the submerging of the plate , it was bent to 45 ° angle to find out softening and bending characteristics of the plate . the diffusion depth of the nmp was analysed with smartscope flash optical 3d - measuring device . approximately 1 mm of the material was cut off from the edge of the plate . the depth of the diffusion was measured from the cut cross - section of the plate 120 minutes after submerging . the results of the nmp diffusion after 30 min of submerging are shown in table 3 . the thickness of the plate was increased 13 % and its mass was increased 22 % due to the submerging of the plate in nmp . the increase of the mass can be seen as the diffusion of nmp into the plate . the increase of the thickness is due to the swelling of the outer layer of the plate . the thickness of the swollen outer layer of the plate was ca . 0 . 15 mm . the length was not changed due to the submerging . moreover , 30 minutes after submerging the plate was softened and bendable by hand . resorbable polymer matrix absorbs nmp when immersed into it . thereafter , an implant loaded with nmp is implanted into the body , and nmp is released gradually during a certain period of time . if the rate of releasing is appropriate , nmp owns osteogenic properties . as with almost any pharmaceuticals , the concentration of nmp must be within certain limits , called a therapeutic window . below the window , nmp is inefficacious . correspondingly , above the window , nmp presents an adverse event by inhibiting certain proteins , other molecules or cell lines . the nmp content is preferably between 0 . 05 and 50 weight -%, more preferably between 0 . 1 and 10 weight -%. according to one preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention , nmp is mixed with a polymer matrix or one of its components before the polymer matrix is fashioned into the form of a medical implant . the mixing can take place in an extruder , in a mixer or similar equipment known per se . nmp may be applied to the implant as well by packing said implant into a container with nmp already in the production process . nmp will be absorbed to the polymer matrix of the implant during storage in said container . the polymer composition of the present invention can be fashioned into implants by injection moulding , compression moulding , extrusion or with another melt - moulding process known by persons skilled in the art . example 4 presents one preferred embodiment of the present invention , where the implant is a barrier membrane in guided tissue regeneration ( gtr ) to treat a periodontal defect . the membrane comprises pla / pga - matrix polymers . the membrane is packaged in a slot of a package , such as a plastic blister . the preparation of the membrane is conducted as one stage of surgical operation as follows : 1 . after opening the package , a proper amount of nmp is poured into the membrane slot . the membrane is fully immersed in nmp for an adequate period , for example 30 seconds to 3 minutes , preferably for 30 seconds . 2 . the membrane is removed from the slot . 3 . nmp is allowed to diffuse into the polymer matrix of the membrane for 15 to 20 minutes . 4 . the membrane is ready for use as a barrier between the gingival soft tissue and the healing bone tissue and / or periodontal tissues in order to prevent the gingival soft tissue filling the defect side . in the conditions of a normal operating theater temperature and humidity , the membrane stays malleable for several hours . implants of the invention can be used for example in guided bone regeneration applications , where the effect of a nmp loaded barrier membrane is required to avoid soft tissue ingrowth in the area where new bone formation is required , and to enhance bone regeneration . it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that , as the technology advances , the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways . the invention and its embodiments are not limited to the examples described above but may vary within the scope of the claims .
novel polymer compositions that are useful in the manufacture of medical implants , implants having osteogenic properties and methods of making said implants are disclosed . polymer compositions comprise a base material including a polymer matrix of resorbable polymer or copolymer , and n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , wherein nmp is present in an amount imparting osteogenic properties for the composition .