Novel Gelatin & Alginate Based Tissue Bioadhesives Loaded with Antibiotic Drug

Tissue bioadhesive have raised interest in the last few decades as an alternative to sutures or staples in closing simple traumatic lacerations due to various advantages. They are less time consuming, less painful and can be less expensive, without compromising the cosmetic outcome.

However, most of the approved bioadhesives are either too toxic or obtain weak bonding strength to the tissue. Novel bioadhesives comprised of gelatin and alginate, crosslinked with carbodiimide, were developed by us. N-hydroxysuccinimide was added to the crosslinking reaction to enable a decrease in the crosslinker content without decreasing the bonding strength. The incorporation of clindamycin, an antibiotic drug, was found to improve the bonding strength. The release profile was fast and highly effective against two relevant bacterial strains. The drug release mechanism is probably based on diffusion and enhanced by swelling, due to the hydrophilic nature of the gelatin-alginate matrix. Good cytotoxicity results were found and excellent in-vivo results were obtained using a porcine model. We therefore believe that our novel gelatin-alginate bioadhesives are of high potential for use in wound closing applications.