DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERISATION OF POLYPROPYLENE- PLGA ELECTROSPUN HERNIA MESHES

Abstract

The use of polymer hernia meshes lead to significant reduction in the rate of relapse, pain minimisation, overall improving the post-operative outcomes of abdominal hernia. Regardless of the fact that a wide range of surgical meshes have been tailored and employed in hernia healing procedures, no mesh has yet enabled a sufficiently strong structure to simultaneously promote the remodeling of the host tissue. Within this line of thought, Electrospinning is a versatile technique, being the most reliable way of manufacturing continuous fibers scaling from nano to micrometer. Electrospun fibers have high porosities and a highsurface-volume ratio perfectly mimicking the native extracellular matrix. We have used electrospinning of poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) on polypropylene hernia meshes which we characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The biocompatibility of the fibers was confirmed by cell viability assay and cell morphology analysis. We show here that the meshes modified with PLGA- nanofibers harbored an excellent biocompatibility.

Keywords

• hernia mesh
• electrospinning
• plga
• polypropylene meshes
• biocompatibility