Manufacturing and Properties of PLA Absorbable Surgical Suture

Abstract

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a polymer that has good biocompatibility and excellent mechanical properties, and the modulus of elasticity and the thermoplastic ability can satisfy the need for the carrier material of cells to grow during bone tissue engineering, such as in regeneration and repair of bone and cartilage. Notably, PLA, which is a versatile material made from corn, sugar beet, or wheat, is an important material in the medical industry and has been used for over 30 years. PA is a biodegradable, bioresorbable polymer that can be assimilated by the body, and has important applications in sustained-release drug delivery systems. The mechanical properties and absorbability of PLA make it an ideal candidate for implants in bone and soft tissue, and for resorbable sutures [1][2][3][4][5]. The time required for resorbtion can range from a few weeks to a few years. In addition, the strength of surgical suture has to conform to certain diameters based on United States Pharmacopoeia (U.S.P.). The surgical suture must have good biocompatibility and be irritation free. As to the general thread, it is not necessary to consider the foregoing conditions, because it is it mainly used in dressing, industry and so on. 1 In early 1998, Lin et al. [6-9] fabricated a rotor-twister that twists multifilaments to increase yarn strength. Enormous advances have been made in recent years in the development of synthetic absorbable suture materials. In this study, PLA multifilament was twisted by a rotortwister to fabricate an absorbable surgical suture [10][11][12][13][14]. The PLA surgical suture composite with chitosan inhibits bacterial growth and promotes wound healing.Abstract Polylactic acid (PLA) is a polymer that has good biocompatibility, good biodegradability and excellent mechanical properties. The modulus of elasticity and the thermoplastic ability of PLA can satisfy the need for the carrier material of the cell to grow in bone tissue engineering, such as in regeneration and repair of bone and cartilage tissue. The PLA multifilament was twisted using different twisting parameters and a rotor-twister to fabricate United States Pharmacopoeia (U.S.P.) size 5-0 and 7-0 surgical sutures. The best tensile strengths were 3.1 and 12.3 N, and the coefficients of variation were 3.70% and 1.75%. The PLA suture was then scoured with 1 wt% sodium hydroxide to eliminate impurities, and the knot-pull strengths decreased to 1.66 and 6.84 N for 7-0 and 5-0 PLA sutures, respectively, but still conforming to the U.S.P. knot-pull strength standard. An in vitro hydrolysis test was performed at 37°C by immersing 5-0 PLA suture in physiological saline (0.9 wt% NaCl aqueous solution); the knot-pull strength decreased by 12% after 28 days.

Mechanical Properties of Fabrics Made from Cotton and Biodegradable Yarns Bamboo, SPF, PLA in Weft

“…• low moisture absorption, • good natural regulation of the body temperature through moister absorption, • low flammability, • high resistance to UV and a low index of refraction, and • excellent mechanical properties and module of elasticity (Lou et al, 2008).…”

Biodegradable polymers suitable for tissue engineering and drug delivery systems

“…Great percentage of crystalline regions has been observed in PLLA materials of high purity 73 -75 %. Features like large yield (50 -70 MPa) and bending (100 MPa) strengths, modulus of elasticity (3 -4 GPa) and small ductility (4 %) indicate suitability of PLLA for sutures, bone fixations and other high stresses applications [19][20][21]. As far as stability of PLLA in biological media is concerned, it was noticed that more than 2 years are required for its total degradation to small metabolites [15].…”

Development and characterization of polylactic acid bandage coated with biopolymers and drugs for wound healing

“…The fabric was scoured with 1% by weight of sodium hydroxide to eliminate impurities and washed with deionized water as described by Lou et al (2008).…”