【Chemical Engineering Journal，IF= 13.3】Endogenous Stimulation-driven Janus Mesh with Antibacterial, Anti-adhesive and Prohealing Performances for Hernia Repair
writer：Liwei Sun, Xu Zhang, Jiteng Zhang, Xinmeng Li, Jie Zhao, Rujian Jiang*, Lingjie Song* and Shifan
keywords：Anti-bacteria， Anti-adhesion， Janus mesh
source：期刊
Issue time：2024年
Hernia incidence remains a high level worldwide as witnessed by the fact that more than 20 million hernias are estimated to be repaired each year. Mesh-based hernioplasty allowing wound defects to close more easily and low recurrence rate is considered as the gold standard option for hernia repair. However, clinical polypropylene mesh (PPM) is still lack of effective treatments for the unavoidable bacterial infection, postoperative adhesion and foreign body reaction. Herein, a stimulus-responsive gel was constructed on the PPM by a simple photoinitiated polymerization. The homogeneous gel-modified mesh could spontaneously transform to a Janus mesh locally under endogenous stimulations evoked from inflammatory response or bacterial infection, and demonstrate asymmetric performances. One side of the Janus mesh facing the abdominal viscera could maintain intact gel structures and form a hydration layer to hinder the stick of proteins and cells, while the other side adjacent to the hernia defect site where bacteria prefer to colonize would accelerate degradation due to bacterial growth and release the bactericidal agent for combating the bacterial infection. The in vivo experiments’ results demonstrated that no adhesions were detectable on the Janus mesh treated group on the 14th day and the level of inflammatory response in histological evaluation was lower as compared to the commercial PPM. Overall, the endogenous stimulation-driven Janus gel network in abdominal wall wound provides a new approach for soft tissue repair biomaterials.