Controllable Drug Release Behavior of Polylactic Acid (PLA) Surgical Suture Coating with Ciprofloxacin (CPFX)—Polycaprolactone (PCL)/Polyglycolide (PGA)

Abstract

Polylactic acid (PLA) surgical suture can be absorbed by human body. In order to avoid surgical site infections (SSIs), the drug is usually loaded on the PLA suture, and then the drug can release directly to the wound. Because the different types of wounds heal at different times, it is needed to control the drug release rate of PLA suture to consistent to the wound healing time. Two biopolymers, polyglycolide (PGA) and polycaprolactone (PCL), were selected as the carrier of ciprofloxacin (CPFX) drug, and then the CPFX-PCL/PGA was coated on the PLA suture. The degradation rate of drug-carrier can be controlled by adjusting the proportion of PCL/PGA, which can regulate the rate of CPFX drug release from PLA suture. The results show that the surface of PLA suture, coating with PCL/PGA, was very rough, which led to increased stitching resistance when we were suturing the wound. These materials, such as the PLA suture, the PCL/PGA carriers and the CPFX drug, were just physically mixed rather than chemically reacted, which was very useful for ensuring the original efficacy of CPFX drug. With the increasing of PCL in the carriers, both the breaking strength and elongation of these un-degraded sutures increased. During degradation, the breaking strength of all sutures gradually decreased, and the more PCL in the coating materials, the longer effective strength-time for the suture. With the increasing of PCL in the drug-carrier, the rate of drug releasing became lower. The drug release mechanism of CPFX-PCL/PGA was a synergistic effect of drug diffusion and PCL/PGA carrier dissolution.

Degradation Behavior of Polymers Used as Coating Materials for Drug Delivery—A Basic Review

“…Shuqiang Liu et al demonstrated that the degradation rate and cycle of drug release from suture (Ciprofloxacin) can be tuned by adjusting the proportion of PGA and PCL [ 65 ]. One notes that in the degradation process the suture gradually degraded from the coating materials to the inside fibers [ 65 ].…”

Natural Cellulose Fibers for Surgical Suture Applications

“…In other studies, the use of antibiotics in the suture was used. For example, Liu et al coated polylactic acid surgical sutures with ciprofloxacin dispersed in polycaprolactone/polyglycolide and showed that a synergistic behavior was observed with no presence of SSI [ 21 ]. Another example is triclosan-coated sutures, it has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of SSIs when compared with standard sutures.…”

Manufacturing PLA/PCL Blends by Ultrasonic Molding Technology

“…In recent decades, research of novel materials for advanced fields, such as medical applications, has notably increased to replace or recover the tissue functions of the human body [ 1 ] or improve quality of life [ 2 ]. Some relevant biomaterial applications include tissue engineering and regenerative medicine [ 3 ], surgical implants or bone-fixing devices in orthopedic applications [ 4 ], porous structures in tissue engineering [ 5 ], implantable matrices for controlled drug release inside the body [ 6 ] or absorbable sutures [ 7 ], among others.…”

“…The use of synthetic polymers in the medical industry has been extended due to their capability to fulfill many functional objectives required in medical devices, namely biocompatibility, biodegradability and mechanical properties [ 1 ], in addition to bioactivity or antimicrobial properties when particle-reinforced polymers or coatings are added [ 7 ]. According to Middleton and Tipton [ 6 ], the ideal polymer must be (i) metabolized by the body after its purpose without leaving a trace (biodegradable and bioabsorbable), (ii) easily sterilized, (iii) mechanically resistant, (iv) easy to process to its final form and, in addition, (v) it should not cause inflammatory or toxic effects disproportionate to its beneficial effect.…”