Fibrin chain cross-linking, fibrinolysis, and in vivo sealing efficacy of differently structured fibrin sealants

In this study, we compared the sealing characteristics and efficacy of a fibrin sealant with reduced plasminogen (FS‐rplg) and a fibrin sealant with aprotinin as a fibrinolysis inhibitor (FS‐apr). The relevant sealing characteristics including clot structure, fibrin chain cross‐linking, and clot lysis were tested in the laboratory. The sealing efficacy was then investigated in a follow‐up animal model to determine differences in the in vivo sealing properties. A total of 46 animals were available for the final analysis with 23 animals in each treatment arm. In conclusion, we saw differences in vitro between FS‐rplg and FS‐apr in ultrastructure and α‐chain cross‐linking rates as well as in the rate of fibrinolysis. These differences may explain the significantly enhanced sealing efficacy in FS‐apr compared to FS‐rplg shown in vivo in a rabbit intestinal model. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 100B: 1507–1512, 2012.