Hyaluronic acid/PEO electrospun tube reduces tendon adhesion to levels comparable to native tendons – an in vitro and in vivo study

We produced an electrospun DegraPol® tube containing a layer of hyaluronic acid/polyethylene oxide with the aim to use HA as biolubricant and improve the anti-adhesive effect of the DegraPol® tube. As hyaluronic acid/polyethylene oxide was the first time added to DegraPol electrospun scaffolds, material properties were analyzed with SEM, Fourier-transformed infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Water Contact Angle (WCA), and by testing the mechanical qualities. Tubes were applied in a full laceration rabbit Achilles tendon and three weeks after implantation, the adhesion extent of the extracted Achilles tendons was determined using Picrosirius Red staining.