Mechanical properties and failure analysis of visible light crosslinked alginate-based tissue sealants

Patrick N Charron; Spencer L Fenn; Alex Poniz; Rachael A Oldinski

doi:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2016.02.003

Mechanical properties and failure analysis of visible light crosslinked alginate-based tissue sealants

J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2016 Jun:59:314-321. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2016.02.003. Epub 2016 Feb 10.

Authors

Patrick N Charron¹, Spencer L Fenn², Alex Poniz¹, Rachael A Oldinski³

Affiliations

¹ Mechanical Engineering Program, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, University of Vermont, USA.
² Bioengineering Program, School of Engineering and College of Medicine, University of Vermont, USA.
³ Mechanical Engineering Program, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, University of Vermont, USA; Bioengineering Program, School of Engineering and College of Medicine, University of Vermont, USA; Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA. Electronic address: Oldinski@uvm.edu.

Abstract

Moderate to weak mechanical properties limit the use of naturally-derived tissue sealants for dynamic medical applications, e.g., sealing a lung leak. To overcome these limitations, we developed visible-light crosslinked alginate-based hydrogels, as either non-adhesive methacrylated alginate (Alg-MA) hydrogel controls, or oxidized Alg-MA (Alg-MA-Ox) tissue adhesive tissue sealants, which form covalent bonds with extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. Our study investigated the potential for visible-light crosslinked Alg-MA-Ox hydrogels to serve as effective surgical tissue sealants for dynamic in vivo systems. The Alg-MA-Ox hydrogels were designed to be an injectable system, curable in situ. Burst pressure experiments were conducted on a custom-fabricated burst pressure device using constant air flow; burst pressure properties and adhesion characteristics correlated with the degrees of methacrylation and oxidation. In summary, visible light crosslinked Alg-MA-Ox hydrogel tissue sealants form effective seals over critically-sized defects, and maintain pressures up to 50mm Hg.

Keywords: Alginate; Burst pressure; Oxidation; Tissue sealant; Visible light crosslinking.

MeSH terms

Alginates / chemistry*
Glucuronic Acid / chemistry
Hexuronic Acids / chemistry
Hydrogels / chemistry*
Light
Materials Testing
Mechanical Phenomena
Tissue Adhesives / chemistry*

Substances

Alginates
Hexuronic Acids
Hydrogels
Tissue Adhesives
Glucuronic Acid

Grants and funding

T32 HL076122/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/United States