Is cellulose sponge degradable or stable as implantation material? An in vivo subcutaneous study in the rat.

The long-term behaviour of cellulose sponge implants, 10 x 10 x 5 mm in size, and tissue reactions in and around them were examined in the subcutaneous tissue of the rat from 1 to 60 weeks after implantation. The cellulose sponge used was filled up with connective tissue 4 to 8 weeks after implantation. Histologically, moderate foreign body tissue reaction inside the implant, the appearance of cracks and fissures, spotty colouration, and softening of the pore walls were observed up to 16 weeks after implantation. Later, the foreign body reaction inside the sponge became milder, the spotty colouration disappeared and micropores enlarged in the viscose cellulose matrix. Histomorphometrically, the cross-sectional area of the implants and the size of the pore wall fragments decreased, and the number of pore wall fragments increased significantly. The cellulose sponge used can be regarded as a slowly degradable implantation material. However, the time needed for the total disappearance of the cellulose sponge from subcutaneous tissue is longer than the 60 weeks.

[1]  J. Ahonen.  Nucleic acids in experimental granuloma. , 1968, Acta physiologica Scandinavica. Supplementum.

[2]  T. Hurme,et al.  Biocompatibility of Cellulose Sponge with Bone , 1998, European Surgical Research.

[3]  A. Göpferich,et al.  Mechanisms of polymer degradation and erosion. , 1996, Biomaterials.

[4]  P. Altmeyer,et al.  Wound Healing and Skin Physiology , 1995, Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

[5]  R. W. Gracy,et al.  Biodegradation of oxidized regenerated cellulose. , 1990, Carbohydrate research.

[6]  T. Hurme,et al.  Viscose cellulose sponge as an implantable matrix: changes in the structure increase the production of granulation tissue. , 1996, Journal of biomedical materials research.

[7]  P. Junker,et al.  FORMATION OF GRANULATION TISSUE IN SUBCUTANEOUSLY IMPLANTED SPONGES IN RATS , 1979, Acta pathologica et microbiologica Scandinavica. Section A, Pathology.

[8]  M. Laato.  The effect of epidermal growth factor on granulation tissue formation in the rat. , 1988, Acta chirurgica Scandinavica. Supplementum.

[9]  Viljanto Ja.  Assessment of wound healing speed in man. , 1991 .

[10]  M. Mito,et al.  Multiporous cellulose microcarrier for the development of a hybrid artificial liver using isolated hepatocytes. , 1998, The Journal of surgical research.

[11]  P Béguin,et al.  Molecular biology of cellulose degradation. , 1990, Annual review of microbiology.

[12]  G. Holt,et al.  Soft-tissue response to synthetic biomaterials. , 1994, Otolaryngologic clinics of North America.

[13]  J. Viljanto.  A Cellstick Device for Wound Healing Research , 1995 .

[14]  Y Noishiki,et al.  Tissue biocompatibility of cellulose and its derivatives. , 1989, Journal of biomedical materials research.

[15]  P. Laippala,et al.  Connective Tissue Formation in Subcutaneous Cellulose Sponge Implants in the Rat , 1998, European Surgical Research.

[16]  P. Helin,et al.  PROTEOGLYCANS, DNA, AND RNA IN RAT GRANULATION TISSUE, SKIN, AND AORTA, BIOCHEMICAL AND HISTOLOGICAL STUDIES , 1980, Acta pathologica et microbiologica Scandinavica. Section A, Pathology.

[17]  I. Lorenzen,et al.  Collagen distribution in developing experimentally induced granulation tissue , 1990, APMIS : acta pathologica, microbiologica, et immunologica Scandinavica.

[18]  S. Mäkisalo.  Induction of connective tissue by various alloplastic materials: an experimental study in rats. , 1989, Biomaterials.

[19]  J. Raekallio,et al.  Enzyme-histochemical observations on the formation of granulation tissue in rabbit fetuses and does. , 1973, Acta chirurgica Scandinavica.