Fibrin Sealant as a Cell Delivery Vehicle

Bill Tawil
Baxter Biosciences
BioSurgery

Bill Tawil, PhD
Baxter BioSurgery, Baxter BioScience, One Baxter Way, Westlake Village, CA 91362,

Fibrin sealants have been used to achieve hemostasis and tissue sealing in various surgical procedures. Fibrin sealant products consist of two main components isolated from human plasma; a fibrinogen enriched complex and thrombin, which form fibrin clot when mixed. Fibrin sealant has also been used for cell and bioactive substance delivery. In this presentation, I will discuss the potential for use of the fibrin sealant for delivering fibroblasts to treat chronic wounds.
Fibroblast proliferation and migration were assessed In Vitro in various dilutions of TisseelR to determine the effect of a change in formulation on fibroblast behavior. Our data indicate that fibroblasts proliferated well within the fibrin clots and retained good morphology and growth characteristics after migrating out of the fibrin clots. Moreover, the extent of fibroblast proliferation inside the fibrin clots and their outward migration depended on the formulation used. We further examined the delivery of fibroblasts in various formulations of fibrin sealant using 3 different wound healing animal models. We found that fibroblasts mixed with fibrin sealant enhanced wound healing as measured by the increase of the wound closure, granulation and re-epithelization.
Thus, fibrin sealant is a good delivery vehicle for fibroblasts to wounds in the animal models studies, and shows promise for use in the treatment of chronic wounds.




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