Materials and devices that function at least in part by adhering to living tissues are finding increasing use in surgical procedures, either as adjuncts to sutures and staples or as frank replacements for those devices in a wide variety of medical procedures. While the nature and magnitude of the forces involved varies greatly with indication and with patient specific circumstances, all uses involve, to some extent, the ability of the material to resist imposed mechanical forces. Therefore, the mechanical properties of the materials, and in particular the adhesive and cohesive properties, are important parameters in evaluating their fitness for use. In addition, the mechanical properties of a given sealant composition can provide a useful means of determining product consistency for quality control, or as a means for determining the effects of various surface treatments on the substrate prior to use of the device.

The complexity and variety of individual applications for sealant, even within a single indicated use (surgical procedure), is such that the results of a burst test are not suitable for determining allowable design stresses without thorough analysis and understanding of the application and sealant behaviors.

This test method may be used for comparing sealants for susceptibility to environmental changes, but such comparisons must be made with great caution since different sealants may respond differently to varying conditions.

As the true sealant strength is strongly dependent on the strength of the sealant/substrate interface, the selection of a proper test substrate is critical. Care must be taken when extrapolating in vitro test results to in vivo expectations. In vitro sealant optimization may not translate to expected in vivo performance due to differences in substrate surface, strength, and elasticity.