Bioactive scaffold for therapeutic and adhesion prevention applications

Abstract

A device for inhibiting adhesion of apposing human body tissue layers includes a scaffold having a designated mean pore size, relative density, and degradation half-life. The scaffold may be operably positioned between apposing tissue layers, such as proximate adhesiogenic layers at a wound site, so as to permit remesothelialization of the tissue without formation of fibrous adhesions. The scaffold device of the invention inhibits adhesion formation by promoting contractile cell migration away from the wound site for a predetermined period of time. The invention further relates to device and methods for promoting internal tissue regeneration, and for provision and / or dispensation of therapeutic and / or diagnostic agents in vivo.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 779,762, filed on Mar. 7, 2006, and entitled “BIOACTIVE SCAFFOLD FOR THERAPEUTIC AND ADHESION PREVENTION APPLICATIONS”, the content of which is incorporated herein in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to the prevention of undesired tissue adhesion generally, and more particularly to devices for inhibiting tissue adhesion through diversion of fibroblast activities. The present invention further relates to methods and devices for therapeutic agent delivery, diagnostic agent delivery, and for promotion of tissue regeneration. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] The serosa comprises the outermost layer of the visceral structures that lie in the pleural and peritoneal cavities of the human body; it consists of a surface epithelial layer called mesothelium and is typically reinforced by irregular fibroelastic tissue or str...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0017] By means of the present invention, undesired adhesion of apposing human body tissue layers may be inhibited so as to promote the remesothelialization of normal body tissue at a wound site. In one aspect of the invention, a device is provided for inhibiting such adhesion of apposing human body tissue layers, wherein the device includes a scaffold that is prepared by co-precipitation of collagen and a glycosaminoglycan, followed by lyophilization.

Problems solved by technology

Both an inadequate blood supply and reduced tissue oxygenation are common in surgically traumatized tissue.

Adhesion formation is a major complication of serosal repair following surgery, ischemia, or infection, and leads to conditions such as intestinal obstruction, severe abdominal pain, and infertility.

In addition to increased patient morbidity and mortality, adhesions present a significant burden to the health care system.

Postoperative adhesions often require additional surgical procedures to remove obstructions and may increase the risk, cost, and complexity of future operations.

As mentioned already, infection may be an important complication of the wound or injury healing.

These methods of drug delivery are simple but have a disadvantage of very fast clearance of the drug from the treatment area to other areas and therefore suboptimal spatial and temporary drug concentration and distribution patterns in the cavity.

However, these products are usually preparations which are produced already containing a specific drug agent and in addition to that often contain a binding agent to contain and regulate the drug release; they are also often made of materials which do not occur naturally in a human body and have delayed or incomplete clearance from the human body when implanted.

Such a technique, however, has several disadvantages: (1) injection of a collagen form which is not naturally present in a human body; (2) injection of a cross-linking substance which is another unnatural agent; and (3) such technology is suitable for the intramural and subcutaneous delivery, but not convenient for use in surgical procedures involving body cavities and internal surgery.

There has been no report to date of a method that is unequivocally effective at preventing fibrous adhesion formation.

These existing methods are not without drawbacks.

While select therapeutic agents have demonstrated an ability to reduce adhesion formation through their ability to alter various portions of the inflammatory wound healing response, these drugs are rapidly cleared from the wound site, which decreases their overall effectiveness during the approximately week-long fibrous adhesion formation process.

Many of these products have demonstrated a degree of effectiveness but have several common drawbacks with regard to surgical use or clinical complications.

SepraFilm® (carboxymethylcellulose / hyaluronic acid) has documented handling difficulty and may result in intraperitoneal abscesses due to differences in clearance of its polymeric components (i.e. fragmentation of film).

(expanded polytetrafluoroethylene) is difficult to handle during laparoscopy, does not biodegrade and may require additional surgery for removal, introducing the possibility of additional adhesion formation.

While these barriers endeavor to prevent the close, continuous physical contact of adhesiogenic and neighboring serosal surfaces, they do not by their nature address the key cellular aspect of the wound response that is responsible for fibrous adhesion maturation: the migration of fibroblasts into the fibrin gel matrix and its subsequent organization into a fibrous adhesion via collagen synthesis.

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