In-vitro and in-vivo hemostat evaluation of decellularized liver extra cellular matrix loaded chitosan/gelatin spongy scaffolds for liver injury

Abstract

Individually, Chitosan (C) and Gelatin (G) are increasingly being used for the simulation and testing of surgical procedures. In the present study, at combination of chitosan/gelatin (CG) was optimized and later enriched by the loading decellularized liver extracellular matrix powder (dLECM) prepared from porcine liver, we hypothesized CG-dLECM combination would enhance wound healing and reduce postoperative complications after liver surgery. Varying concentration of dLECM (1, 4, and 8 mg/ml) were loaded into CG, and evaluation was done to get the optimized composition. Preliminary analysis on the microstructure, in-vitro degradation, and blood clot kinetics and in-vitro cytocompatibility showed that the CG with 4 mg/ml dLECM (CG-E4) was the most suitable composition for further consideration. The prepared CG-E4 spongy scaffold enhances fast post-operative recovery with a higher blood absorption and fast clotting time (~50 s). In addition, CG-E4 spongy scaffold implanted at rat liver wound showed desired biocompatibility as evidenced by reduced wound size, earlier bioabsorption and accelerated liver regeneration. In the present study, we demonstrated that, CG with dLECM spongy scaffold as a potential hemostatic material in the prevention of excessive hemorrhage during surgeries.