title: Mechanical properties and failure analysis of visible light crosslinked alginate-based tissue sealants.
abstract: Moderate to weak mechanical properties limit the use of naturally-derived tissue sealants for dynamic medical applications, e.g., sealing a lung leak. To overcome these limitations, we developed visible-light crosslinked alginate-based hydrogels, as either non-adhesive methacrylated alginate (Alg-MA) hydrogel controls, or oxidized Alg-MA (Alg-MA-Ox) tissue adhesive tissue sealants, which form covalent bonds with extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. Our study investigated the potential for visible-light crosslinked Alg-MA-Ox hydrogels to serve as effective surgical tissue sealants for dynamic in vivo systems. The Alg-MA-Ox hydrogels were designed to be an injectable system, curable in situ. Burst pressure experiments were conducted on a custom-fabricated burst pressure device using constant air flow; burst pressure properties and adhesion characteristics correlated with the degrees of methacrylation and oxidation. In summary, visible light crosslinked Alg-MA-Ox hydrogel tissue sealants form effective seals over critically-sized defects, and maintain pressures up to 50mm Hg.
authors.affiliation: Mechanical Engineering Program, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, University of Vermont, USA.
authors.forename: Patrick N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Charron
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Program, School of Engineering and College of Medicine, University of Vermont, USA.
authors.forename: Spencer L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Fenn
authors.affiliation: Mechanical Engineering Program, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, University of Vermont, USA.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Poniz
authors.affiliation: Mechanical Engineering Program, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, University of Vermont, USA; Bioengineering Program, School of Engineering and College of Medicine, University of Vermont, USA; Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA. Electronic address: Oldinski@uvm.edu.
authors.forename: Rachael A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Oldinski
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry*; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D008027:Light; D008422:Materials Testing; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D014014:Tissue Adhesives / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D020100:Hydrogels; D014014:Tissue Adhesives; D020723:Glucuronic Acid
keywords: Alginate; Burst pressure; Oxidation; Tissue sealant; Visible light crosslinking