Lung-Mimetic Hydrofoam Sealant to Treat Pulmonary Air Leak

Meghan R. Pinezich, Mohammad Mir, Pamela L. Graney, Daniel Naveed Tavakol, Jiawen Chen, Maria R. Hudock, Olimpia Gavaudan, Panpan Chen, Sarah R. Kaslow, Jonathan A. Reimer, Julie Van Hassel, Brandon A. Guenthart, John D. O'Neill, Matthew Bacchetta, Jinho Kim, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Pulmonary air leak is the most common complication of lung surgery, contributing to post-operative morbidity in up to 60% of patients; yet, there is no reliable treatment. Available surgical sealants do not match the demanding deformation mechanics of lung tissue; and therefore, fail to seal air leak. To address this therapeutic gap, a sealant with structural and mechanical similarity to subpleural lung is designed, developed, and systematically evaluated. This “lung-mimetic” sealant is a hydrofoam material that has alveolar-like porous ultrastructure, lung-like viscoelastic properties (adhesive, compressive, tensile), and lung extracellular matrix-derived signals (matrikines) to support tissue repair. In biocompatibility testing, the lung-mimetic sealant shows minimal cytotoxicity and immunogenicity in vitro. Human primary monocytes exposed to sealant matrikines in vitro upregulate key genes (MARCO, PDGFB, VEGF) known to correlate with pleural wound healing and tissue repair in vivo. In rat and swine models of pulmonary air leak, this lung-mimetic sealant rapidly seals air leak and restores baseline lung mechanics. Altogether, these data indicate that the lung-mimetic sealant can effectively seal pulmonary air leak and promote a favorable cellular response in vitro.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2303026
JournalAdvanced Healthcare Materials
Volume13
Issue number13
DOIs
StatePublished - 17 May 2024

Keywords

  • biomimetic materials
  • lung extracellular matrix
  • pneumothorax
  • thoracic surgery

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