AsianScientist (July 28, 2017) – South Korean researchers have developed a surgical glue that is compatible with the most common imaging techniques including fluoroscopy, ultrasound, and computed tomography (CT). Their findings have been published in Nature Communications.
As open surgery has gradually been replaced by minimally-invasive and image-guided procedures, tissue adhesives are taking the place of sutures and surgical staples.
In collaboration with medical doctors from Seoul National University Hospital, a team of researchers from the Center for Nanoparticle Research at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), have tested a nanoparticle-based tissue adhesive that is compatible with imaging.
The researchers designed nanparticles in a shell made of made of silica (SiO2) and a core of radiopaque tantalum oxide (TaOx). SiO2 holds the tissue together, while TaOx provides contrast enhancement on ultrasound and CT. The nanoparticles had similar adhesive properties to cyanoacrylate and Lipidol (CA-Lp), a US Food and Drug Administration-approved mixture of a tissue adhesive and radiopaque oil used in clinical practice.
Due to the absorption of silica to the tissues, the nanoparticles were able to successfully seal a liver puncture in a rabbit model.
“A plethora of surgical procedures create a liver puncture, which necessitates hemostasis to stop the bleeding. These include operations frequently used in patients with chronic liver disease and liver cancer, such as: liver biopsy, percutaneous biliary drainage, portal vein embolization, and portal vein angioplasty,” said Dr. Shin Kwangsoo, the first author of this study.
Furthermore, the nanoparticles are more biocompatible than CA-Lp, meaning that it causes less side effects. CA-Lp tends to trigger immune reaction within three days from the operation and inflammation after 14-65 days, while experiments showed that the nanoparticles did not show such adverse effects after 56 days.
Finally, the IBS scientists verified that their nanoparticles are stable even in moving organs such as the lungs. A fluorescent version of the nanoparticles was successfully used to guide the resection of lung cancer in a rat.
The article can be found at: Shin et al. (2017) Multifunctional Nanoparticles as a Tissue Adhesive and an Injectable Marker for Image Guided Procedures.
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Source: Institute for Basic Science; Photo: Shutterstock.
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