Influence of Tubular Braid’s Structures on Wicking Behaviours: An Experimental Investigation

Abstract

Avoiding wicking in a suture to recover the wound and avoid infection is critical. In this paper, the capillary rise method is applied to evaluate the wicking property of tubular braided structures. Effects of the tubular braid’s structural parameters, namely braid angle, interlacement pattern, structural axis, and the position of the yarns parallel to the axis are investigated. The results indicate that with the increase in braid angle, the wicking height descends and has the greatest effect on the wicking property among the studied parameters. It is also observed that under the same braid angle, the wicking height of the Two over Two braid is larger than the regular braid. Moreover, the presence of core yarns in a braided structure increases the wicking height. Among the studied parameters, the structural axis does not have a significant effect on this behavior. The results of statistical study confirm the experimental data and show that it is better to use biaxial braided structures with a regular pattern in the production of braided sutures. This work not only examines some factors effect on a vital feature of the braided suture but also underlines the importance of choosing the braid suture. Graphical abstract