Conductive Hydrogel for Thermal Damage Reduction During Radiofrequency (RF)‐Induced Intestinal Tissue Fusion

ABSTRACT Radiofrequency (RF)‐induced thermal fusion is a novel technology for rapid and sutureless tissue connection, offering a potential alternative to traditional manual suturing and mechanical anastomosis. However, it poses a potential risk of thermal damage to adjacent normal tissues, resulting in adverse consequences such as tissue carbonization and anastomotic necrosis. In this study, a conductive polyacrylamide‐alginate‐calcium ion (denoted as PAM‐ALG‐Ca 2+ ) hydrogel was developed as a cooling agent to reduce thermal damage. The PAM‐ALG‐0.5Ca 2+ hydrogel exhibited a maximum compressive strength of 4.78 ± 0.66 MPa, which is 36.77 times higher than that of the PAM‐ALG hydrogel. In addition, the hydrogel possessed an electrical conductivity of 15.46 S/m, a high‐water content of 85.90% ± 0.10% and notable biocompatibility with the mouse fibroblast cell line L929. The heat‐absorption performance of the hydrogel was also investigated through an ex vivo experiment, indicating that the heat‐absorption rate of the hydrogel (4.76 ± 0.17°C/min) was higher than that of the PAM‐ALG solution (4.38 ± 0.13°C/min) but lower than that of the 0.9% NaCl solution (5.57 ± 0.19°C/min). Furthermore, the tissue fusion experiment demonstrated that the fusion temperature was effectively reduced from 143.05°C ± 4.35°C to 105.10°C ± 1.8°C after the application of the hydrogel, meeting the requirements for clinical application. In addition, the fused tissues exhibited reduced thermal damage, better structural retention, and improved histological appearance. Therefore, the PAM‐ALG‐0.5Ca 2+ hydrogel shows great potential for reducing fusion temperature and enhancing the quality of anastomosis in RF‐induced thermal tissue fusion.