Enhanced Bonding Strength of Hydrophobically Modified Gelatin Films on Wet Blood Vessels

The bonding behavior between hydrophobically modified alkaline-treated gelatin (hm-AlGltn) films and porcine blood vessels was evaluated under wet conditions. Hexanoyl (Hx: C-6), decanoyl (Dec: C-10), and stearyl (Ste: C-18) chlorides were introduced into the amino groups of AlGltn to obtain HxAlGltn, DecAlGltn, and SteAlGltn, respectively, with various modification percentages. The hm-AlGltn was fabricated into films and thermally crosslinked to obtain water-insoluble films (t-hm-AlGltn). The 42% modified t-HxAlGltn (t-42HxAlGltn) possessed higher wettability than the 38% modified t-DecAlGltn (t-38DecAlGltn) and the 44% modified t-SteAlGltn (t-44SteAlGltn) films, and the t-42HxAlGltn film showed a high bonding strength with the blood vessel compared with all the hm-AlGltn films. Histological observations indicated that t-42HxAlGltn and t-38DecAlGltn remained on the blood vessel even after the bonding strength measurements. From cell culture experiments, the t-42HxAlGltn films showed significant cell adhesion compared to other films. These findings indicate that the Hx group easily interpenetrated the surface of blood vessels and effectively enhanced the bonding strength between the films and the tissue.