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<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Adhesions formation is a significant postsurgical complication. At present, there is no effective method for preventing adhesions formation <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B1">1</abbr></abbrgrp>, although barrier products such as Dextran (Dex) <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B2">2</abbr></abbrgrp> and sodium hyaluronate (SH) <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B3">3</abbr></abbrgrp> have proved the most clinically successful <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B4">4</abbr><abbr bid="B5">5</abbr><abbr bid="B6">6</abbr></abbrgrp>, This study is designed to investigate the preventive and therapeutic potential of a novel penicillamine-bound membrane for abdominal adhesions formation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>150 rats were involved in the present study. All animals were randomly divided into 6 groups (1 vehicle group and 5 test groups respectively treated with dextran, sodium hyaluronate, penicillamine, penicillamine-bound membrane or non-penicillamine-bound membrane). The occurrence, grade and score of abdominal adhesions were compared between the different groups. The breaking strength of incision was compared between the vehicle group and the penicillamine, membrane with/without penicillamine - treated groups. Expression of collagen type I was compared between the vehicle and penicillamine-treated group. The occurrence of adhesions was compared between the Dextran (Dex), sodium hyaluronate (SH), penicillamine-treated group and membrane with or without penicillamine- treated groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Penicillamine and penicillamine-bound membrane had significant preventive effects on abdominal adhesions formation, better than dextran, sodium hyaluronate and non-penicillamine-bound membrane. However, neither of them influenced incision healing, although they insignificantly decreased the breaking strength of the incision. Penicillamine-bound membrane, which can be loaded locally and more efficaciously, shows greater advantages than penicillamine.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Penicillamine-bound membrane can be applied as an effective therapeutic intervention for abdominal adhesions with inconsequential side effects.</p>