Bio-Inspired Self-Healing, Shear-Thinning, and Adhesive Gallic Acid-Conjugated Chitosan/Carbon Black Composite Hydrogels as Suture Support Materials

Abstract

The occurrence of leakage from anastomotic sites is a significant issue given its potential undesirable complications. The management of anastomotic leakage after gastrointestinal surgery is particularly crucial because it is directly associated with mortality and morbidity in patients. If adhesive materials could be used to support suturing in surgical procedures, many complications caused by leakage from the anastomosis sites could be prevented. In this study, we have developed self-healing, shear-thinning, tissue-adhesive, carbon-black-containing, gallic acid-conjugated chitosan (CB/Chi-gallol) hydrogels as sealing materials to be used with suturing. The addition of CB into Chi-gallol solution resulted in the formation of a crosslinked hydrogel with instantaneous solidification. In addition, these CB/Chi-gallol hydrogels showed enhancement of the elastic modulus (G′) values with increased CB concentration. Furthermore, these hydrogels exhibited excellent self-healing, shear-thinning, and tissue-adhesive properties. Notably, the hydrogels successfully sealed the incision site with suturing, resulting in a significant increase in the bursting pressure. The proposed self-healing and adhesive hydrogels are potentially useful in versatile biomedical applications, particularly as suture support materials for surgical procedures.

Effect of Tannic Acid Concentrations on Temperature-Sensitive Sol–Gel Transition and Stability of Tannic Acid/Pluronic F127 Composite Hydrogels

“…As shown in Figure 7b, the bursting pressure of the normal porcine intestine after preparing suture holes was 31.6 ± 1.6 mmHg. This is similar to previous reports of the bursting pressures of normal porcine intestinal tissue after preparing suture holes (34.2 ± 1.6 mmHg) [51]. After preparing an incision and suturing by applying PluF hydrogels, the bursting pressures increased to 37.5 ± 3.5 mmHg.…”

Hydrophilic/Hydrophobic Janus Nanofibers Containing Compound K for Cartilage Regeneration

“…CHI-GA was synthesized using an EDC coupling agent, as previously reported. 50 , 51 Briefly, chitosan (500 mg) was dissolved in distilled deionized water (DDW, 44.5 mL) containing 5 mL of 1 N HCl. The pH was adjusted to 5 by adding 1 N NaOH.…”

“…Tissue adhesiveness of the CHI-GA/CK/PCL NFs was examined using a universal testing machine (UTM, Instron 5583, Instron, USA) equipped with a 50 N load cell according to previous research with a slight modification. [50][51][52] The PCL sides of the CHI-GA/CK/PCL NFs (1 × 1 cm 2 ) were attached to the PET film (1 × 5 cm 2 ) using commercially available adhesives (Loctite ® 401, Rocky Hill, Connecticut, USA) resulting in the exposure of the CHI-GA-coated surfaces. In addition, the porcine intestine (1 × 1 cm 2 ) was attached to a PET film (1 × 5 cm 2 ) using commercially available adhesives.…”

Sutureless vascular anastomotic approaches and their potential impacts

“…This practical less-suture approach offers an efficient and dependable solution, particularly beneficial for anastomosis of multiple vessels in emergencies or small-diameter vessels ( Fig. 15 ) [ [125] , [126] , [127] ]. Importantly, Chitosan may function in a sutureless technique, rather than less suture, but this requires further study and examination.…”