In vivo evaluation of in situ polysaccharide based hydrogel for prevention of postoperative adhesion

In this paper, the carboxymethyl chitosan/oxidized dextran hydrogel was developed and its potency application in the prevention of postoperative adhesion was investigated. The developed hydrogel showed porous and interconnected interior structure with pore size about 250 μm, which was sensitive to lysozymic solution (1.5 μg/ml) with almost complete degradation after 4 weeks of in vitro incubation. In vivo study suggested that the developed hydrogel showed the great capacity on the prevention of postoperative adhesions in rat model. According to the result of histopathological examination, it clearly showed that the mesothelial cell layer of abdominal wall and cecum were completely recovered after 7 days of surgery in 3% carboxymethyl chitosan/oxidized dextran hydrogel group, while obvious adhesion between abdominal wall and cecum was observed as treatment with saline solution or 3% carboxymethyl chitosan solution after 1 day of surgery. All these results suggested that the developed biodegradable hydrogel might have potential application in the prevention of postoperative adhesion.