BIOCOMPATIBILITY TESTING OF NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC PERICARDIAL ADHESION BARRIERS
Here we performed a physico-mechanical and biocompatibility testing of pericardial adhesion barriers prepared from either blend of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) with poly(lactide-co-glycolide) or collagen. Collagen adhesion barriers had higher durability while synthetic barriers were more prone to deformation. No significant differences in serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-б, IL-1в, IL-6, and MCP-1) were found between rats with either collagen or synthetic adhesion barriers implanted to anterior pericardium compared to mock-treated rats. We conclude that both natural and synthetic pericardial adhesion barriers do not cause any systemic inflammation and have high biocompatibility.