Lysozyme depolymerization of photo-activated chitosan adhesive films

• Lysozyme was loaded in chitosan boiadhesive to enhance rate of depolymerization.
• The impact of the laser used for adhesive photoactivation on lysozyme was assessed.
• Loading lysozyme in the bioadhesive enhanced the depolymerization rate.
• Irradiation with laser did not affect the depolymerization of adhesive by lysozyme.

Effective tissue bioadhesion of rose bengal–chitosan films can be achieved by photoactivation using a green laser. In this study, lysozyme was incorporated in these films to enhance the rate of depolymerization and assess the laser impact on lysozyme. The lysozyme loaded films exhibited a 21% mass loss after 4 weeks implantation in rats while control films (without lysozyme) had only 7% mass loss. Capillary electrophoresis–mass spectroscopy showed that chitosan degraded into monomers and oligomers of glucosamine and N-acetyl-glucosamine. Irradiation with laser did not affect the depolymerization of adhesive by lysozyme suggesting that the inclusion of lysozyme in the bioadhesive is a viable technique for tailoring the depolymerization.