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Inhibition of vascular prosthetic graft infection using a photocrosslinkable chitosan hydrogel
Masanori Fujita1, Manabu Kinoshita, Masayuki Ishihara
1Department of Medical Engineering, National Defense Medical College, Tokorozawa, Saitama 359-8513, Japan. BXB01424@nifty.ne.jp
Background:
Despite improvements in surgical techniques and antimicrobial therapies, prosthetic aortic graft infections remain a clinical problem. It is well known that chitosan has strong antibacterial activities to a wide variety of bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, epidermidis and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The antibacterial activity by adhering a photocrosslinkable chitosan hydrogel to Dacron grafts was investigated in vitro and in vivo using a rabbit model.
Materials And Methods:
The photocrosslinkable chitosan hydrogel (50microl) coated grafts (3 x 2mm fragments) were evaluated on a resistance against E. coliin vitro. The graft infections in vivo were also initiated through implantation of a Dacron graft fragment into the infrarenal aorta of a rabbit, followed by a topical inoculation with 10(6) colony-forming units of E. coli. The graft infection was allowed to develop over the following 1 week.
Results:
The photocrosslinkable chitosan hydrogel-coated grafts exhibited a resistance against E. coliin vitro. Furthermore, application of 0.1ml photocrosslinkable chitosan hydrogel on the Dacron implant in vivo substantially inhibited graft infection with E. coli.
Conclusions:
These preliminary results suggested the potential use of a photocrosslinkable chitosan hydrogel in directing graft infection prophylaxis.
