Development of a novel synthetic coating for abdominal hernia meshes

Abstract

This master thesis project focuses on the development of synthetic coating material for hernia mesh capable of decreasing post-operative complications and improving incorpo-ration and adaptability, also promoting tissue regeneration for 500,000 patients suffering from this pathology in Mexico. To achieve this goal, composite polycaprolactone (PCL) membranes were prepared using different biomaterials as hyaluronic acid (HA), vitamin E, xanthan gum (XG), polylysine, and others at different concentrations by solvent casting method in N,N- Dimethylformamide (DMF) and chloroform (CL). Surface morphology re-vealed changes in the porosity and in the mean pore size produced by the solvent-poly-mer interactions, as well as by the inclusion of biomaterials, obtaining specific pores al-lowing cell migration and proliferation. The changes in crystallinity and melting tempera-tures were measured by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), showing lower crystalline values in composite membranes. Also, the presence of crystalline planes (110), (111), and (200) could be observed indicating an orthorhombic unit cell corresponding to PCL nature. Functional groups were found by FT-IR analysis, showing vibrational bands confirming the presence of the polymer and biomaterials. How-ever, there was no creation or elimination of new bands, therefore it is inferred that there is a good affinity and interaction of solvents. Contac Angle (CA) technique showed both hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity behavior. However, most of the samples showed angles between 70º and 90º referring hydrophilicity which is beneful for stem cell attachment and cell migration. Finally, non-Newtonian and hyper-elastic behavior could be observed in rheology properties due to changes in polymer chain giving stiffness and re-orientation of molecules. Therefore, it was possible to develop a prototype of an intelligent synthetic coating for abdominal wall hernia meshes with superior characteristics to the commercial ones, and with significant advances in the state of the art, which will give the possibility of preserving abdominal wall integrity to patients suffering from this problem.