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Viscoelastically active sutures – A stitch in time?

France, Louise A.; Fancey, Kevin S.

Authors

Profile image of Louise France

Dr Louise France L.France@hull.ac.uk
Director of Learning and Teaching, Lecturer in Mechanical and Medical Engineering



Abstract

We present results to show that a commercially available polypropylene suture filament (Ethicon Prolene), following annealing and tensile creep can, after creep load removal, release viscoelastically stored energy over a period of several weeks. Specifically, over 0.1–1000 h, the suture undergoes a time-dependent contraction of ~4% and, following a short recovery time (~3 min) to a fixed strain, produces a progressively increasing recovery force of ~0.1–1 N. We suggest that this time-dependent energy release may facilitate wound healing by the action of viscoelastically induced mechanotransduction (VIM). Moreover, our recent (published) findings have led to evidence of reduced hydrophobicity from viscoelastically recovering polymeric filaments and speculation that this may emanate from the long-term release of electric charges. Thus, we propose that the latter may enhance the VIM mechanism. In this paper, we report on the direct detection of these charges and the first findings from an investigation involving the presence of cell cultures on Prolene samples that are (i) viscoelastically recovering, (ii) annealed only and (iii) in as-received condition. From (i), the results demonstrate a significant increase in cell motility, with migration towards the suture, compared to (ii) and (iii). This suggests greater stimulation of the wound healing process, an effect which is expected to continue for the duration of the viscoelastic recovery period.

Citation

France, L. A., & Fancey, K. S. (2021). Viscoelastically active sutures – A stitch in time?. Materials Science and Engineering: C, 121, Article 111695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2020.111695

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 30, 2020
Online Publication Date Nov 4, 2020
Publication Date Feb 1, 2021
Deposit Date Dec 7, 2020
Publicly Available Date Nov 5, 2021
Journal Materials Science and Engineering C
Print ISSN 0928-4931
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 121
Article Number 111695
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2020.111695
Keywords Wound healing; Sutures; Mechanotransduction; Viscoelasticity; Cell motility; Electric charge
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3672516
Publisher URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0928493120336146?via%3Dihub

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