Safety and utility of a PMMA-based tissue adhesive for closure of surgical incision wounds

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the safety and utility of the polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)-based tissue adhesive (PMMA-ta) for wound closure. This product is composed of 4-methacryloyloxyethyl trimellitate anhydride and methylmethacrylate as monomers, tri-n-butylborane as initiator, and PMMA powder as filler. These components are mixed at the time of use. This resulting paste hardens within several minutes. The safety of PMMA-ta was evaluated in an internal wound model using a cultured dermal substitute (CDS), i.e. a fibroblast-embedded collagen gel sheet. PMMA-ta was applied to one CDS, covered with a second CDS, and then cultured for 1 week (group II). A commercially available 2-octyl cyanoacrylate-based tissue adhesive (OCA) was used for comparative purposes (group I). No tissue adhesive was applied to the CDSs in the control group. Fibroblast viability was measured using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Cell viability in the group I was 36%, and cell viability in the group II was 84%, of that in the control group. These results indicate that PMMA-ta has lower cytotoxicity than OCA. Next, the usefulness of PMMA-ta as a tissue adhesive was evaluated in three different wound models using Sprague–Dawley rats: (1) a thin skin incision wound, (2) a thick skin incision wound, and (3) a full-thickness incision wound through the abdominal wall. The third experiment is the surgical incision model with the most severe condition. The comparative study using OCA was conducted only in the third experiment. Each wound healing process was evaluated macroscopically and histologically after 1 week, 2 weeks, and 3 months. An excellent macroscopic wound appearance was observed with both PMMA-ta and OCA, with only a slightly visible fine-line scar. Histologically, a typical primary healing was observed for both adhesives. Considering its safety and utility, PMMA-ta is therefore promising for use as a tissue adhesive in wound closure.