In vivo hemostatic capability of a novel Tetra-PEG hydrogel

Abstract

TetraStat is a novel synthetic sealant created with a tetra-armed polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogel. It has no risk of infection from biological pathogens and has a hemostatic mechanism independent of the blood coagulation pathway and controllable gelation. We evaluated the hemostatic effect of TetraStat in ex vivo and in vivo experiments for future clinical application. In ex vivo experiments using a circulatory system filled with phosphate-buffered saline under high pressure, needle punctures were astricted with TetraStat and two commercially available hemostatic agents (SURGICEL and TachoSil). For in vivo experiments, rat vena cavae were punctured with 14, 18, and 20 gauge needles, and hemorrhage occurred for several seconds. A porous PEG sponge soaked with TetraStat was applied as a hemostatic system for the massive hemorrhage. In the ex vivo experiment, punctures were sealed completely after 1 min astriction with TetraStat gel; in contrast, SURGICEL and TachoSil failed to seal the hole. In vivo experiments demonstrated that TetraStat successfully caused hemostasis in the punctured vena cava within 1 min of application in a dose-dependent manner. For SURGICEL and TachoSil, successful hemostasis occurred after 5 min astriction but was less frequent after 1 min astriction. Ex vivo and in vivo experiments revealed TetraStat’s high hemostatic ability under high pressure and in rat vena cava injuries under massive hemorrhage. A porous PEG sponge soaked with TetraStat is a promising advancement in hemostatic systems.

Brownian simulations for tetra-gel-type phantom networks composed of prepolymers with bidisperse arm length

“…9,10 The network uniformity is a distinguishable feature of tetra gels from the other network polymers, and the studies based on the uniformity have been made both toward fundamental and application directions. 11–15…”

“…9,10 The network uniformity is a distinguishable feature of tetra gels from the other network polymers, and the studies based on the uniformity have been made both toward fundamental and application directions. [11][12][13][14][15] An interesting approach is to utilize tetra gels as reference materials for studying the effects of defects. Sakai et al 16 have conducted such an attempt using tetra gels made of prepolymers with the arm length contrast.…”