Improving the Functional and Antibacterial Properties of an Endoprosthetic Mesh Using Atomic Layer Deposition Technology

Abstract

Over the past few decades, abdominal wall hernias of various locations have attracted close attention from surgeons in various countries, including Russians. Approximately 20 million hernioplasty operations are performed annually, at least 85% of which involve the use of surgical meshes. This interest of specialists in hernias is due to serious reasons, first of all, strangulation, which is a life-threatening complication and often leads to death. According to various authors, from 3 to 8% of the population suffer from hernias, and at least 20 million people in the world undergo hernia repair every day, and they are recently increasingly using endoprosthetic meshes from various manufacturers for hernial orifice repair. Often, hernia mesh causes postoperative complications, such as adhesions, wrinkling of the mesh, granulomas, fistulas, seromas, including infection of the implant, leading to the development of abscesses and possibly sepsis. To reduce these complications, various modifications of endoprosthetic meshes and materials are being developed. However, there is not a single mesh at present that would completely satisfy hernia surgeons. Based on the above, the authors set a goal to improve the functional and antibacterial properties of polypropylene endoprosthetic mesh using atomic layer deposition (ALD) nanotechnology. The ALD method consists in that a nanofilm is created on the surface of the endoprosthetic mesh through cyclic reactions using trimethylaluminum, titanium tetrachloride, and vanadium trichloroxide. The authors have obtained the first samples of meshes that were implanted into the bodies of experimental animals. The experimental samples demonstrated good biocompatibility and integration into the surrounding tissue, preventing any inflammatory response. The developed method for improving the functional and antibacterial properties of endoprosthetic meshes is simple in industrial implementation compared to PACVD or CVD and allows covering large areas, therefore, reducing material production costs and increasing the economic efficiency of domestically produced mesh implants and making them competitive in the world market.