Biomechanical properties and healing effects of chitin patch in a rat full ‐thickness abdominal wall defect model

Abstract Hernia repair is usually accompanied with the implantation of a synthetic mesh, which frequently results in a foreign body response and serious complications. In the present study, a novel biodegradable chitin‐based hernia patch was prepared and characterized. Biomechanical properties and biodegradability of the chitin patch were quantified in vitro and in vivo. In repair of the rat abdominal wall full‐thickness defect model, the chitin patch induced more abundant new blood vessels with milder tissue inflammation and fibrosis compared with polypropylene mesh. Chitin patch effectively inhibited excessive secretion of inflammation‐associated cytokines (IL‐6 and TNF‐α) (p < 0.01) and significantly increased the secretion of healing‐related cytokines (FGF1 and TGF‐β1) (p < 0.01). Accompanied by biodegradation of the chitin patch, intra‐abdominal adhesions caused by the chitin patch decreased significantly, and the tensile strength of the repaired site could meet the biomechanical requirements of human abdominal wall. After the one‐year observation period, the defected abdominal wall returned to the appropriate thickness with no obvious complication or hernia occurrence. In a conclusion, the newly designed chitin patch showed good biomechanical properties and satisfactory healing effects on the full‐thickness defect of abdominal wall, which makes it promising candidate for clinical hernia treatment. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Bio...
Source: Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials - Category: Materials Science Authors: Tags: Original Research Report Source Type: research