Biodegradable polymer film reinforcement of an indocyanine green-doped liquid albumin solder for laser-assisted incision closure.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to determine whether solid material reinforcement of a liquid albumin solder coagulum could improve the cohesive strength of the solder and, thus, the ultimate breaking strength of the incision repair in vitro.


METHODS
A 50%(w/v) bovine serum albumin solder with 0.5 or 2.5 mg/ml indocyanine green (ICG) dye was used to repair an incision in bovine aorta. The solder was coagulated with an 806-nm continuous wave diode laser. A 50-micrometer-thick poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) film was used to reinforce the solder (the controls had solder but no reinforcement). Acute breaking strengths were measured, and the data were analyzed by Student's t-test.


RESULTS
Observations of the failure modes indicate cohesive strength reinforcement of the test specimens vs. the controls. The 2.5 mg/ml ICG reinforced solder was stronger than the controls without reinforcement (P < 0.05) for all laser powers tested. There was no difference between the test specimens and the controls with 0.5 mg/ml ICG solder for low laser powers, but at higher laser powers, the reinforced solder was stronger than the controls (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Reinforcement of liquid albumin solders in laser-assisted incision repair seems to have advantages in terms of acute breaking strength over conventional methods that do not reinforce the cohesive strength of the solder.
Sorg
B S
BS
Biomedical Engineering Laser Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA. sorg@mail.utexas.edu
McNally
K M
KM
Welch
A J
AJ
D000818:Animals; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000293:injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002417:Cattle; D007208:Indocyanine Green / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017075:Laser Coagulation / Q000379:methods*; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011108:Polymers / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013718:Tensile Strength; D014014:Tissue Adhesives; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000601:surgery*
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011108:Polymers; D014014:Tissue Adhesives; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D019344:Lactic Acid; D007208:Indocyanine Green