Polymeric x-ray contrast compositions containing an organic crystalline x-ray contrast agent

Claim 1

An x-ray contrast composition designed for depositing a thin, flexible film membrance onto the mucosal lining of the nutrient absorbing inner surface of the intenstine of a patient to form a barrier between said nutrient absorbing inner surface and the content of said intestine, said flexible film membrane to remain bound to said mucosal lining until eliminated by normal cell turnover comprising based on w/v: (a) of from about 0.1 to about 25% of a polymeric material capable of forming a film membrane on the gastrointestinal tract in the pH range of from about 5 to about 8, said polymeric material being selected from the group consisting of anionic polymers carrying negative charges in the ionized form, cationic polymers carrying positive charges in the ionized form, and neutral polymers, said neutral polymers having atoms containing polarizable electrons thereon, selected from the group consisting of oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, fluoride, chloride, bromide and iodide, in combination with (b) of from about 0.1 to about 20% of a divalent cation to potentiate the binding of said flexible film membrane to said mucosal lining selected from the group consisting of Ca ++ , Mg ++ , Zn ++ and Ba ++ ; and (c) of from about 5 to about 95% of a crystalline contrast agent having a surface modifier adsorbed on the surface thereof in an amount sufficient to maintain an effective average particle size of from about 0.5 μ to about 100 μ in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier wherein said crystalline contrast agent is selected from the group consisting of diatrizoic acid, metrizoic acid, iothalamic acid, trimesic acid, urokocic acid, ioxathalamic acid, tetraiodoterephthalic acid, ioxaglic acid, iodipamide, ethyl-3,5-diacetamido-2,4,6-triiodobenzoate, ethyl-2-(3,5-bis(acetylamino)-2,4,6-triiodobenzoyloxy)butyrate, and ethyl(3,5-bis(acetylamino)-2,4,60triiodobenzoyloxy)-acetate; and said surface modifier is selected from the group consisting of a tetrafuctional block copolymer derived from sequential addition of propylene oxide and ethylene oxide to ethylenediamine, and a compound of the formula ##STR12## wherein ##STR13## L' is a chemical bond, --O--, --S--, --NH--, --CONH-- or --SO 2 NH--; R is a hydophobic substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkyl, or a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group; each of R 1 and R 2 independently is hydrogen or an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms; each of a and b independently is 0 or an integer from 1 to 3, provided that the sum of a and b is not greater than 3; and each of x and y independently is an integer from 3 to 7.