United States: Researchers have developed a suture that when subjected to tension – like in a moving patient – causes electrical stimulation of the wound.
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According to Dr. Chengyi Hou, who is a co-author of the research from Donghua University, “This electrical stimulation suture is a fully biodegradable and self-electrified material. It helps wound healing without any additional approaches, [such as] using external electric devices.” the Guardian reported.
They found that electrical stimulation enhances wound healing in various ways, such as by stimulating the migration of cells toward the affected region.
The team described in the journal Nature Communications that the new sutures have a magnesium core filament, which is then coated with biodegradable polymer.
More details of the study
This is accommodated within a casing that is also made out of another biodegradable material.
The team proceeded to experiment with the suture using artificial muscle fibers and rats with open injuries.
The conclusions derived from the study are as follows: when the sutures are stretched, and the core moves within the sheath, tightly packed elements are shoved against one another, and the process generates sparks, similar to when the balloon is rubbed on hair, for instance.
Hou said, “The suture generates electricity by creating opposite charges on the suture’s middle and outer shell when muscles relax and contract, based on the triboelectric effect,” the Guardian reported.
“This generates an electric field at the wound site to accelerate wound healing,” he added.
Whereas it might put stress and reduce how well the conventional stitches perform, it is good for the new sutures.
Using petri dish culture, the team used the percentage rate at which cells migrated into the subsequent layer around the sutures and the rate of cell divisions as electrical stimulation of nodes enhanced cell migratory rates and proliferation higher than when the field was not applied, and that it retarded bacterial growth.
The researchers also conducted some surgeries in rats and saw that muscles incised in the rats and sutured with the new sutures healed faster and had less bacterial quantity than those sutured with usual bioabsorbable sutures, something the researchers note can help reduce post-surgery infection risks.
After ten days, the wound was nearly fully recovered – although it was less than the result when no suture or any type of bioabsorbable suture was employed.
He noted that the team is also using the suture on human beings to conduct clinical trials about the suture; the new type of suture has the same cost as the commercial absorbable sutures.