Solid protein solder-doped biodegradable polymer membranes for laser-assisted tissue repair

摘要

Abstract: Solid protein solder-doped polymer membranes have been developed for laser-assisted tissue repair. Biodegradable polymer films of controlled porosity were fabricated with poly(L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) using a solvent-casting and particulate-leaching technique. The films provided a porous scaffold that readily absorbed the traditional protein solder mix composed of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and indocyanine green (ICG) dye. In vitro investigations were conducted to assess the influence of various processing parameters on the strength of tissue repairs formed using the new membranes. These parameters included the PLGA copolymer and PLGA/PEG blend ratio, the salt particle size, the initial bovine serum albumin (BSA) weight fraction, and the laser irradiance used to denature the solder. Altering the PLGA copolymer ratio had little effect on repair strength, however, it influenced the membrane degradation rate. Repair strength increased with increased membrane pore size and BSA concentration. The addition of PEG during the film casting stage increased the flexibility of the membranes but not necessarily the repair strength. The repair strength increased with increasing irradiance from 12 W/cm$+2$/ to 15 W/cm$+2$/. The new solder-doped polymer membranes provide all of the benefits associated with solid protein solders including high repair strength and improved edge coaptation. In addition, the flexible and moldable nature of the new membranes offer the capability of tailoring the membranes to a wide range of tissue geometries, and consequently, improved clinical applicability of laser- assisted tissue repair. !23