The photocrosslinkable tissue adhesive based on copolymeric dextran/HEMA

We developed a copolymeric bioadhesive system with the potential to be used as a tissue adhesive based on biopolymer dextran. Copolymeric hydrogels comprising a urethane dextran (Dex-U) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) were prepared and crosslinked under the ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. In this study, the photopolymerization process was monitored by real time infrared spectroscopy (RTIR). The adhesion strength was evaluated by lap-shear-test The surface tension, viscosity of the solutions and the cytotoxicity assays were investigated. Compared to Dex-U system, the addition of HEMA remarkably improved the properties of Dex-H system especially the adhesion strength and the nontoxicity. And materials variation could be tailored to match the need of tissues. The copolymeric tissue adhesives demonstrated promising adhesion strength and nontoxicity. The maximum adhesion strength reached to 4.33 +/- 0.47 Mpa which was 86 times higher than that of Tisseel. The obtained products have the potential to serve as tissue adhesive in the future. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.