Fabrication and application of rose Bengal-chitosan films in laser tissue repair

Photochemical tissue bonding (PTB) is a sutureless technique for tissue repair, which is achieved by applying a solution of rose bengal (RB) between two tissue edges1,2. These are then irradiated by a laser that is selectively absorbed by the RB. The resulting photochemical reactions supposedly crosslink the collagen fibers in the tissue with minimal heat production3. In this report, RB has been incorporated in thin chitosan films to fabricate a novel tissue adhesive that is laser-activated. Adhesive films, based on chitosan and containing ~0.1 wt% RB, are fabricated and bonded to calf intestine and rat tibial nerves by a solid state laser (λ=532 nm, Fluence~110 J/cm ², spot size~0.5 cm). A single-column tensiometer, interfaced with a personal computer, is used to test the bonding strength. The RB-chitosan adhesive bonds firmly to the intestine with a strength of 15 ± 6 kPa, (n=30). The adhesion strength drops to 2 ± 2 kPa (n=30) when the laser is not applied to the adhesive. The anastomosis of tibial nerves can be also completed without the use of sutures. A novel chitosan adhesive has been fabricated that bonds photochemically to tissue and does not require sutures.