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Glossary of Terms

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• A back to top
  • Active pharmaceutical agent (API)
    Active pharmaceutical agent (API)
    

    An active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is defined by the FDA [21 CFR 207.3] as “any substance that is represented for use in a drug and that, when used in the manufacturing, processing, or packaging of a drug, becomes an active ingredient or a finished dosage form of the drug.”

  • Antibacterial
    Antibacterial
    

    An antibacterial is something that acts to kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria.

  • Antibiotic
    Antibiotic
    

    An antibiotic is any substance that can destroy or inhibit the growth of bacteria and similar microorganisms.

    
    Web. 7 Feb. 2012. Retrieved from http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/antibiotic. Under license per http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

  • Antimicrobial
    Antimicrobial
    

    Antimicrobial is a broad term representing something that kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms.

  • Antiseptic
    Antiseptic
    

    An antiseptic is an antimicrobial substance applied to living tissue to stop or inhibit the spread of an infection.

    
    Web. 7 Feb. 2012. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiseptic. Under license per http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

• B back to top
  • Biocompatible
    Biocompatible
    

    Biocompatible is the term used to describe a material that elicits a response in a host that is appropriate for a specific application.

  • Bravo™
    Bravo™
    

    Bravo™ is the trademark for SurModics’ durable polymer matrices that are used to deliver drugs for extended periods of time.

• C back to top
  • Covalent bond
    Covalent bond
    

    A covalent bond is a type of chemical bond where two atoms are connected to each other by the sharing of two or more electrons.

    
    Web. 7 Feb. 2012. Retrieved from http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/covalent_bond. Under license per http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

• D back to top
  • Drug delivery
    Drug delivery
    

    SurModics’ drug delivery technology is for site-specific applications. Site-specific drug delivery is the release from an implant an active pharmaceutical ingredient intended to have an effect in the vicinity of the implant.

• E back to top
  • Electron beam processing
    Electron beam processing
    

    Electron beam processing (also known as e-beam) is a method used to sterilize medical devices and pharmaceutical goods. This process involves exposing products to a high-energy electron beam that kills microorganisms by breaking strands of their DNA.

  • Ethylene oxide
    Ethylene oxide
    

    Ethylene oxide (also known as EtO) is a chemical used in the gas phase to to sterilize medical devices

  • ex vivo
    ex vivo
    

    ex vivo (Latin: out of the living) refers to studies on functional organs or tissue that have been removed from the organism with minimal modification to the natural state.

• F back to top
  • Fibrous encapsulation
    Fibrous encapsulation
    

    Fibrous encapsulation is the process by which a layer of connective tissue forms between an implant and surrounding tissues in the final stages of the healing process.

• H back to top
  • Hemocompatible
    Hemocompatible
    

    Hemocompatible is the term used to describe a material that does not elicit a negative response (clotting, platelet activation, etc.) when it is placed in contact with blood.

  • Heparin
    Heparin
    

    Heparin is a naturally-occurring, highly negatively-charged polysaccharide that is used clinically as an intravenous anticoagulant to treat inherent clotting disorders and to prevent blood clot formation during surgery and interventional procedures.

  • Hydrophilic
    Hydrophilic
    

    Hydrophilic means having an affinity for water; able to absorb, or be wetted by water.

    
    Web. 7 Feb. 2012. Retrieved from http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hydrophilic. Under license per http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

  • Hydrophobic
    Hydrophobic
    

    Hydrophobic means lacking an affinity for water; unable to absorb, or be wetted by water.

    
    Web. 7 Feb. 2012. Retrieved from http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hydrophobic. Under license per http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

• I back to top
  • In vitro
    In vitro
    

    In vitro (Latin: within glass) refers to studies that are conducted using components of a biological system that have been isolated from their usual biological context in order to permit a more detailed or convenient analysis of the system.

  • In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD)
    In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD)
    

    In vitro diagnostic (IVD) tests are devices that are used in assays performed in a controlled environment outside a living organism to diagnose diseases.

  • In vivo
    In vivo
    

    In vivo (Latin: within the living) refers to experiments conducted with living organisms in their normal, intact state.

  • I-vation™
    I-vation™
    

    I-vation™ is the trademark for SurModics’ controlled release drug delivery system used to treat ophthalmic diseases.

• L back to top
  • Lubricious
    Lubricious
    

    Lubricious means having a smooth or slippery quality that reduces the friction between two surfaces sliding past one another.

• M back to top
  • Medical device
    Medical device
    

    A medical device is a product used for medical purposes in patients, in diagnosis, therapy or surgery.

    
    Web. 6 Feb. 2012. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_device. Under license per http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

  • Microorganism
    Microorganism
    

    An organism that is too small to be seen by the unaided eye, especially a single-celled organism, such as a bacterium.

    
    Web. 7 Feb. 2012. Retrieved from http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/microorganism. Under license per http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

• P back to top
  • PhotoLink®
    PhotoLink®
    

    PhotoLink® is the trademark for SurModics’ coating technology, which creates a photochemical covalent coupling of the coating molecules to a device substrate.

  • Polymer
    Polymer
    

    A polymer is a long or larger molecule consisting of a chain or network of many repeating units, formed by chemically bonding together many identical or similar small molecules called monomers. A polymer is formed by polymerization, the joining of many monomer molecules.

    
    Web. 6 Feb. 2012. Retrieved from http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/polymer. Under license per http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

• R back to top
  • Reagent
    Reagent
    

    A reagent is a usually available or readily made compound or known mixture of compounds used to treat materials, samples, other compounds or reactants in a laboratory or sometimes an industrial setting.

    
    SurModics uses the word reagent to refer to compounds and copolymers that are used to create a coating formulation.

    
    Web. 6 Feb. 2012. Retrieved from http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/reagent. Under license per http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

• S back to top
  • Surface modification
    Surface modification
    

    Surface modification is the act of modifying the surface of a material by bringing physical, chemical or biological characteristics different from the ones originally found on the surface of a material.

    
    Web. 6 Feb. 2012. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_modification. Under license per http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

  • SynBiosys™
    SynBiosys™
    

    SynBiosys™ is the trademark for biodegradable drug delivery polymer matrices licensed by SurModics from Innocore Technologies BV.