Preparation and Evaluation of Poly(γ-glutamic acid)-Based Anti-Adhesion Membranes

Abstract

Poly(γ-glutamic acid)(γ-PGA) based nanofiber sheets were prepared by using electrospinning technique to evaluate the ability of the prevention of postoperative tissue adhesion. The anti-adhesion membranes were prepared from poly(γ-glutamic acid) and PLGA with different compositions by electrospinning. Also nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (ibuprofen) was incorporated during fabrication of nanofibers. Various electrospun nanofibers were characterized by the measurements of microstructure (surface morphology and fiber diameter by SEM), ATR-FTIR, water contact angle and in vivo animal study using Sprague Dawley rat model. The average diameter of nanofibers electrospun from trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) solution ranged from 300 nm to 900 nm, approximately. From in vivo animal study, it was observed that ibuprofen-incorporated γ- PGA nanofiber sheet was significantly effective in preventing tissue adhesion and inducing wound healing, probably due to the appropriate hydrophilicity of γ-PGA preventing shrinkage of the sheet and appropriate barrier property, while PLGA nanofibrous mat was dramatically contracted in in vivo due to its high hydrophobicity resulted in insufficient coverage of wound.