Fujita Masanori, Kinoshita Manabu, Ishihara Masayuki, Kanatani Yasuhiro, Morimoto Yuji, Simizu Masafumi, Ishizuka Toshiaki, Saito Yoshio, Yura Hirofumi, Matsui Takemi, Takase Bonpei, Hattori Hidemi, Kikuchi Makoto, Maehara Tadaaki
Department of Medical Engineering, National Defense Medical College, Tokorozawa, Saitama 359-8513, Japan.
J Surg Res. 2004 Sep;121(1):135-40. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2004.04.010.
Despite improvements in surgical techniques and antimicrobial therapies, prosthetic aortic graft infections remain a clinical problem. It is well known that chitosan has strong antibacterial activities to a wide variety of bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, epidermidis and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The antibacterial activity by adhering a photocrosslinkable chitosan hydrogel to Dacron grafts was investigated in vitro and in vivo using a rabbit model.
The photocrosslinkable chitosan hydrogel (50microl) coated grafts (3 x 2mm fragments) were evaluated on a resistance against E. coliin vitro. The graft infections in vivo were also initiated through implantation of a Dacron graft fragment into the infrarenal aorta of a rabbit, followed by a topical inoculation with 10(6) colony-forming units of E. coli. The graft infection was allowed to develop over the following 1 week.
The photocrosslinkable chitosan hydrogel-coated grafts exhibited a resistance against E. coliin vitro. Furthermore, application of 0.1ml photocrosslinkable chitosan hydrogel on the Dacron implant in vivo substantially inhibited graft infection with E. coli.
These preliminary results suggested the potential use of a photocrosslinkable chitosan hydrogel in directing graft infection prophylaxis.
