Biomechanical properties and healing effects of chitin patch in a rat full-thickness abdominal wall defect model

Hernia repair is usually accompanied with the implantation of a synthetic mesh, which frequently results in a foreign body response and serious complications. In the present study, a novel biodegradable chitin-based hernia patch was prepared and characterized. Biomechanical properties and biodegradability of the chitin patch were quantified in vitro and in vivo. In repair of the rat abdominal wall full-thickness defect model, the chitin patch induced more abundant new blood vessels with milder tissue inflammation and fibrosis compared with polypropylene mesh. Chitin patch effectively inhibited excessive secretion of inflammation-associated cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α) (p < 0.01) and significantly increased the secretion of healing-related cytokines (FGF1 and TGF-β1) (p < 0.01). Accompanied by biodegradation of the chitin patch, intra-abdominal adhesions caused by the chitin patch decreased significantly, and the tensile strength of the repaired site could meet the biomechanical requirements of human abdominal wall. After the one-year observation period, the defected abdominal wall returned to the appropriate thickness with no obvious complication or hernia occurrence. In a conclusion, the newly designed chitin patch showed good biomechanical properties and satisfactory healing effects on the full-thickness defect of abdominal wall, which makes it promising candidate for clinical hernia treatment. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 106B: 1349-1357, 2018.