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Manufacturing and Properties of PLA Absorbable Surgical Suture

Center of General Educational/ Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Material Science, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China, cwlou{at}ctust.edu.tw

Chun-Hsu Yao

Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Material Science, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China

Yueh-Sheng Chen

Institute of Chinese Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China

Tsung-Chih Hsieh

Laboratory of Fiber Application and Manufacturing, Institute of Textile Engineering, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China

Jia-Horng Lin

Laboratory of Fiber Application and Manufacturing, Institute of Textile Engineering, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China

Wen-Hao Hsing

Department of Textile Engineering, Chinese Culture University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

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.

Key Words: PLA • surgical suture

Textile Research Journal, Vol. 78, No. 11, 958-965 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0040517507087856


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