Evaluating the in vitro adhesive strength of biomaterials. Biosimulator for selective leak closure.

Aims: Surgical measures always involve problems of hemostasis and tissue management. Tissue sealing can be carried out in this case, with knowledge of the adhesive strength of liquid and fleece-bound sealing being of great clinical relevance. By employing a leak closure model, it has been possible to perform in vitro standardized technological-biomechanical experiments on a biomembrane mounted in a pressure chamber (biosimulator).

Findings: Liquid sealing (fibrin gluing: 4.1 hPa, photopolymerisate: 82.9 hPa) offers minimal and maximal adhesive strengths. Fleece-bound sealing does not depend on the carrier material and is always more stabile than pure liquid sealing, whereby systems that must be coated "on the spot" (prepare-to-use: 22.3-25.3 hPa) exhibit significantly lower adhesive strength (p < 0.0001) than a biodegradable collagen system, which is ready-to-use thanks to its fibrinogen-based coating (TachoComb H). Practicability, effectiveness and efficiency are further advantages of ready-to-use systems.

Conclusions: The biosimulator, presented here, is flexible in terms of its application for tissue management and it enables reproducible, economic and ecological evaluation of repair systems, e.g. tissue sealings.