A remedy for adhesions after abdominal surgery
Lana Kortenbrede's dissertation ‘Fast room-temperature curing polyurethane-based hydrogels for medical applications’ focussed on the development of a hydrogel implant. The cooperative doctorate was supervised by Professor Marc Leimenstoll from the TH Köln and Professor Axel Griesbeck from the University of Cologne and was carried out in collaboration with the company Covestro.
Ms Kortenbrede, how do you explain your topic to your neighbours?
After abdominal surgery, adhesions often form between the abdominal wall and/or organs. These adhesions consist of connective tissue cells and fibrin, an endogenous protein that is produced during blood clotting and acts as a natural adhesive. The aim of my work was to develop a fast-setting two-component hydrogel implant that is applied after an operation to prevent the formation of adhesions. The material mechanically inhibits the ingrowth of connective tissue cells due to its close-meshed three-dimensional cross-linking. It is also designed as a degradable system to avoid the need for a repeat operation.
What did you ind out?
I was able to establish an effective chemical cross-linking technology that enables the hydrogel to cure within a few seconds. I identified specific parameters such as the solids content or the number of degradable groups in the network, which can be used as control variables for certain properties of the hydrogel. I was able to show that the network has a sufficiently small mesh size to prevent the migration and invasion of cells, i.e. their ingrowth or throughgrowth. The barrier function remained stable under laboratory conditions over a period of seven days, although the mesh size increased due to the degradation process of the hydrogel.
What excites you about your topic?
My work focused on chemical and physical cross-linking technologies, the synthesis of polymers and macromolecules as well as material characterisation. What was particularly fascinating was the direct observability of chemical processes, in which theoretical concepts were put into practice and visualised in real, visible materials. It was impressive to follow established theories in their practical application.
How can we proceed with your results?
We have achieved numerous interesting results, which are reflected in the corresponding publication and a patent application. Nevertheless, not all of the challenges that arose during the project could be fully resolved. These unresolved aspects now represent the starting points for further advancing the project and possibly developing a marketable product.
January 2025
April 2025