Plasma surface modification of synthetic absorbable sutures

Abstract

The aim of the study was to examine the feasibility of using plasma surface modification technology to alter the hydrolytic degradation rate of commercial synthetic absorbable sutures. Size 2-0 Dexon, Vicryl, PDSII, and Maxon sutures were tested. They were treated by two different surface modification techniques: parylene deposition and plasma gases (Methane, trimethylsilane, and tetrafluoroethene). The thickness of surface treatment ranged from 200 to 1000 A. The treated sutures were subject to in vitro hydrolytic degradation in phosphate buffer of pH = 7.4 at 37 degrees C for up to 120 days. The tensile breaking strength, weight loss, surface wettability, bending stiffness, and surface morphology were evaluated. The results indicated that the concept of plasma surface treatment for altering the hydrolytic degradation of synthetic absorbable sutures was feasible, and the level of improvement depended on the type of sutures, the treatment conditions, and the duration of hydrolysis. Vicryl and PDSII sutures showed overall the best improvement in tensile strength retention among the four commercial sutures. Dexon and Maxon sutures, however, exhibited only marginal improvement. The observed improvement in tensile strength retention appeared to be related to the increasing hydrophobicity of the sutures. The surface treatments did not adversely affect the bending stiffness of the sutures and no visible surface morphological changes were observed. Refinements and optimization of the surface treatment conditions are needed for achieving the maximum advantage of the proposed concept, particularly shielding the harmful effect of uv during plasma treatment.

Composite surgical sutures with bioactive glass coating

“…[5][6][7][8] Several factors that influence the biodegradation mechanisms of polyglactin 910 include pH of the degradation media; 5,8 type of electrolytes in the media; 8 external stress/strain applied; 7,8 ␥ irradiation; 8,9 presence of enzymes, bacteria, and lipids; 6,10 and plasma modification. 6,11 Most studies of degradation in liquid media have been carried out in buffered-saline systems. Tensile properties of polyglactin 910 sutures reported at different pH levels of the saline medium 5 show that maximum retention of tensile properties is around pH 7.0 -7.44.…”

“…[5][6][7][8][9][10][11] In particular the composition Polyglactin 910 has shown excellent performance as sutures in wound healing applications. 5,6 These sutures exhibit three important advantages: minimal tissue reactions, good mechanical properties, and easy and reproducible fabrication.…”

The role of superoxide ions in the degradation of synthetic absorbable sutures

“…It appears that these impressions started randomly on the suture fiber surface and propagated concentrically (i.e., uniformly at all angles), irrespective of the fact that all fibers are highly anisotropic. In the reported morphological studies of all existing absorbable sutures in conventional buffer media, [9][10][11]13,31,[40][41][42][43][44] the most common surface morphological characteristic upon hydrolytic degradation is the formation of circumferential or/ and longitudinal surface cracks that are consistent with the anisotropic characteristic of fibers. It is not fully understood at this stage how superoxide ioninduced degradation could lead to such unusual surface morphology on Monocryl and Maxon sutures.…”

“…These factors include the pH of the degradation media, 2,3 the type of electrolytes in the degradation media, 4 the external stress/strain applied, [5][6][7] the temperature of the degradation media, 1,8 ␥-irradiation, 9-12 free radicals, [13][14][15][16] a variety of enzymes, 11,[17][18][19][20] bacteria, [21][22][23][24][25][26] lipids, 27,28 synovial fluid, 29,30 plasma surface modification, 31 and computer modeling of the effects of steric hindrance and electronic induction on hydrolytic degradation. 32 A review of these factors recently was written by Chu et al 1 Among the factors studied, the role of free radicals on the biodegradation of synthetic absorbable sutures is one of the least investigated even though this factor probably is one of the few very important ones in biological systems.…”

Adhesion improvement at the PMMA bone cement-titanium implant interface using methyl methacrylate atmospheric pressure plasma polymerization

“…which can be used in almost any branch of industry (micro-electronics, biomedical, automotive, textile, etc.) [11,[29][30][31][32][33]. Using a non-thermal plasma to deposit a thin film which is insoluble and highly adherent to the metal substrate might dramatically decrease the premature failure rate.…”