Zein-based adhesives for biomedical use: obtaining, mechanical characterization, and in vitro degradation

• Grant number: 22/16745-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2023
• End date: March 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Nonmetallic Materials
• Principal Investigator: Marcia Cristina Branciforti
• Grantee: Daniela Winsley Valereto Friozi
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is commonly corrected through sling surgery, which, when made of inert material, can cause excessive tension in the urethra and, consequently, urinary retention. With the aim of eliminating the need for a second surgical intervention to reduce the tension of the sling, a patent was developed (NEUMAYR, 2010) for a bipartite sling in its median portion interconnected by unspecified bioabsorbable material. The present research project aims at the development of an adhesive to be applied in the middle portion of the bipartite sling, manufactured from zein, a hydrophobic protein from the endosperm of corn. Zein will be initially added to sodium dodecyl sulfate and the resulting solution placed in molds and dried in an oven to obtain films. These films will be immersed in an aqueous solution of different concentrations of iron (III) chloride to obtain the adhesives. The adhesive-sling sets will be tested by traction and the adhesives tested by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) pre and post degradation in vitro to evaluate both the mechanical properties of the adhesive joint and the evolution of the degradative process of the bioabsorbable adhesive. After the execution of the project, it is expected to obtain an adhesive material based on zein with satisfactory mechanical properties and to become aware of its in vitro degradation simulating an environment of body fluids, the latter being a field that is still scientifically unexplored.