The usefulness of re-attachability of anti-adhesive cross-linked gelatin film and the required physical and biological properties

BACKGROUND: To overcome the unfavorable issues associated with conventional anti-adhesive HA/CMC film, we developed an anti-adhesive thermally cross-linked gelatin film. OBJECTIVE: We tried to clarify the re-attachability of the film and the required properties concerning the film thickness, stiffness and anti-adhesion effect. METHODS: To determine the optimal thickness, 5 kinds of the thickness of gelatin film and the conventional film were analyzed by the tensile test, shearing test, buckling test and tissue injury test. Finally, using the optimal film thickness, we tried to clarify the anti-adhesion effect of the reattached film. RESULTS: The tensile and shearing test showed gelatin films >= 30 mu m thick had greater tensile strength and a smaller number of film fractures, than the conventional film. The buckling and tissue injury test showed gelatin films >= 60 mu m thick had higher buckling strength and worse injury scores than the conventional film. The anti-adhesive effect of re-attached gelatin film using optimal thickness (30-40 mu m) found the anti-adhesion score was significantly better than that of the control. CONCLUSIONS: Provided it has an optimal thickness, gelatin film can be reattached with enough physical strength not to tear, safety stiffness not to induce tissue injury, and a sufficient anti-adhesion effect.