title: Fabrication and application of rose bengal-chitosan films in laser tissue repair.
abstract: Photochemical tissue bonding (PTB) is a sutureless technique for tissue repair, which is achieved by applying a solution of rose bengal (RB) between two tissue edges(1,2). These are then irradiated by a laser that is selectively absorbed by the RB. The resulting photochemical reactions supposedly crosslink the collagen fibers in the tissue with minimal heat production(3). In this report, RB has been incorporated in thin chitosan films to fabricate a novel tissue adhesive that is laser-activated. Adhesive films, based on chitosan and containing ~0.1 wt% RB, are fabricated and bonded to calf intestine and rat tibial nerves by a solid state laser (λ=532 nm, Fluence~110 J/cm(2), spot size~0.5 cm). A single-column tensiometer, interfaced with a personal computer, is used to test the bonding strength. The RB-chitosan adhesive bonds firmly to the intestine with a strength of 15 ± 6 kPa, (n=30). The adhesion strength drops to 2 ± 2 kPa (n=30) when the laser is not applied to the adhesive. The anastomosis of tibial nerves can be also completed without the use of sutures. A novel chitosan adhesive has been fabricated that bonds photochemically to tissue and does not require sutures.
authors.affiliation: Bioelectronics and Neuroscience (BENS) research group, University of Western Sydney, NSW Australia. a.lauto@uws.edu.au
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lauto
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stoodley
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barton
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Morley
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Mahns
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.forename: Damia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mawad
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D048271:Chitosan / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry*; D007422:Intestines / Q000187:drug effects; D007834:Lasers; D009417:Nerve Tissue / Q000187:drug effects; D055668:Photochemical Processes; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012395:Rose Bengal / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry*; D013977:Tibia / Q000294:innervation; D014014:Tissue Adhesives / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D014014:Tissue Adhesives; D012395:Rose Bengal; D048271:Chitosan