Welding characteristics of different albumin species with and without fatty acids

Background and Objective: Albumin solders from different species have been used for laser tissue welding without a complete understanding of possible differences between them. The breaking strength of four different species of serum albumin (human, bovine, porcine, and canine), both fatty acid containing (FAC) and fatty acid free (FAF), was determined to evaluate the welding ability of each type of albumin. Study Design/Materials and Methods: Acute breaking strengths were determined on canine small bowel by using 50% albumin (FAF and FAC) from human, bovine (BSA), porcine, and canine species. Results: BSA-FAC and BSA-FAF had a significantly higher (P < 0.05) breaking strength than all other groups; furthermore, BSA-FAC was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than BSA-FAF. There was no significant difference in breaking strength when FAF albumin was compared with FAC albumin from humans, pigs, or dogs. Conclusion: These experimental results show that species-specific and fatty acid-specific differences exist when these albumin solders are used for laser tissue welding. This finding suggests that modifications in albumin could be used to improve results through decreased thermal damage and increased weld strength. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.