Effect of Compressive Modulus of Porous PVA Hydrogel Coating on the Preventing Adhesion of Polypropylene Mesh

PP mesh is a widely used prosthetic material in hernia repair. However, visceral adhesion is one of the worst complications of this operation. Hence, an anti-adhesive PP mesh was developed by coating porous polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel on PP surface via freezing-thawing process method. The compressive modulus of porous PVA hydrogel coating was first regulated by the addition of porogen sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO 3 ) at various quality ratios with PVA. As expected, the porous hydrogel coating displayed modulus more closely resembling that of native abdominal wall tissue. In vitro tests demonstrated the modified PP mesh showed superior coating stability, excellent hemocompatibility, and good cytocompatibility. In vivo experiments illustrated that PP mesh coated by the PVA4 hydrogel that mimicked the modulus of native abdominal wall could prevent adhesion effectively. Based on this, the rapamycin (RPM) was loaded into the porous PVA4 hydrogel coating to further improve anti-adhesive property of PP mesh. The Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Masson trichrome (MT) staining results verified that the resulting mesh could alleviate the inflammation response and reduce the deposition of collagen around the implantation zone. The biomimetic mechanical property and anti-adhesive property of modified PP mesh make it a valuable candidate for application in hernioplasty. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved