Abstract
Problem: The availability of novel biodegradable biomaterials, which offers a specific adaptation to the physiological and anatomical, facilitates new therapeutic options in head and neck surgery. The incorporation of a biomaterial in vivo is assumed to require regular wound-healing mechanisms. Processes required for successful wound healing are cell migration, angiogenesis, matrix degradation, and remodeling of granulation tissue. Key among these processes is the tightly controlled degradation of the extracellular matrix. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their endogenous inhibitors (tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases [TIMPs]) are responsible for the establishment and maintenance of a stable extracellular matrix architecture. The aim was to determine the activity and kinetics of appearance of MMPs and TIMPs after subcutaneous implantation of a novel polymeric biomaterial in rats. Furthermore, the influence of our polymer on the angiogenesis in the chorionallantois membrane (CAM) test was investigated.
Methods: Sterile polymer samples were placed on the CAM and incubated for 48 hours following microscopically assessment of vascular reactions. Polymer samples were implanted subcutaneously in the back of Sprague-Dawley rats. As control, identical wounds were created without biomaterial implantation. Excision of wound tissue was conducted on day 2, 5, and 14 of wound healing. The tissue was analyzed for MMP and TIMP activity by substrate gel electrophoresis and radiometric enzyme assays.
Results: The vascularization of the CAM was not influenced by the polymer samples. No impaired wound healing was detectable after polymer implantation. Similar levels of MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-9, and TIMPs were detected in the polymer and the control wounds.
Conclusion: Appropriate understanding of the interaction between polymeric biomaterials and surrounding tissue is the requirement of an optimal adaptation of biodegradable biomaterials to the requirements in vivo to develop new therapeutic options in the field of biomedical applications.
Significance: We focus on different surface modifications of our polymer to support biomaterial-microvasculature interactions in vivo.
Support: None reported.