A new anti-adhesion film synthesized from polygalacturonic acid with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide crosslinker

The most commonly used anti-adhesion device for separation and isolation of wounded tissues after surgery is the polymeric film. In this study, a new anti-adhesion membrane based on polygalacturonic acid (PGA) has been synthesized, and its biocompatibility and anti-adhesion capabilities evaluated. The PGA film was reacted with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC) to obtain a cross-linked PGA film with an 86% gel content and a 47% water content when immersed in aqueous solution. This PGA-EDC film did not show any evidence of cytotoxic effects since it did not induce any significant increase in cytoplasmic LDH release from the L929 cells in contact with it. When implanted into rats, the PGA-EDC film exhibited a most promising anti-adhesion potential with only I out of 21 rats operated not forming any tissue adhesion. This anti-adhesion potency is significantly higher than that found for Seprafilm(TM) and untreated rats where 11 out of 21 and 18 out of 21 operated rats, respectively, formed tissue adhesions. The implanted PGA-EDC film did not elicit any acute inflammatory reaction based on the results of histological examination and peritoneal fluid leukocytes analysis. The newly developed PGA-EDC film thus has a great potential for future use in clinical applications. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.