Study on the tribological behavior of surgical suture interacting with a skin substitute by using a penetration friction apparatus

Gangqiang Zhang; Tianhui Ren; Sheng Zhang; Xiangqiong Zeng; Emile van der Heide

doi:10.1016/j.colsurfb.2017.10.067

Study on the tribological behavior of surgical suture interacting with a skin substitute by using a penetration friction apparatus

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2018 Feb 1:162:228-235. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2017.10.067. Epub 2017 Oct 31.

Authors

Gangqiang Zhang¹, Tianhui Ren², Sheng Zhang³, Xiangqiong Zeng⁴, Emile van der Heide⁵

Affiliations

¹ Advanced Lubricating Materials Laboratory, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 201210, Shanghai, China; Laboratory for Surface Technology and Tribology, University of Twente, 7500AE, Enschede, The Netherlands; School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication of the Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240, Shanghai, China.
² School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication of the Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240, Shanghai, China.
³ Micro/Nano Technology Center, Tokai University, 4-1-1 Kitakaname, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, 259-1292, Japan.
⁴ Advanced Lubricating Materials Laboratory, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 201210, Shanghai, China; Laboratory for Surface Technology and Tribology, University of Twente, 7500AE, Enschede, The Netherlands. Electronic address: zengxq@sari.ac.cn.
⁵ Laboratory for Surface Technology and Tribology, University of Twente, 7500AE, Enschede, The Netherlands; TU Delft, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN, Delft, The Netherlands; Ghent University, Soete Laboratory,Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 903, B-9052, Zwijnaarde, Belgium.

PMID: 29202414
DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2017.10.067

Abstract

Surgical sutures have different sizes, structures, whereas they are being used for various surgeries. The high friction performance of surgical sutures in the suturing process may cause inflammation and pain, leading to a longer recovery time. This paper presents an understanding of the tribological behavior of surgical suture with monofilament and multifilament structures, by means of a penetration friction apparatus (PFA). The results indicated that structure and surface topography of the surgical suture had a pronounced effect on the tribological interactions. It was found that the friction force and abrasion area of skin substitute with the penetration of polyglycolic acid (PGA) multifilament surgical suture were larger than that of Nylon monofilament surgical suture. Meanwhile, more abrasion at the pull-in boundary of skin substitute was observed compared with that at the pull-out boundary.

Keywords: Friction; Penetration friction apparatus; Structure and surface morphology; Surgical suture.

MeSH terms

Biomechanical Phenomena
Friction
Humans
Materials Testing / instrumentation
Nylons / chemistry*
Polyglycolic Acid / chemistry*
Skin, Artificial*
Suture Techniques / instrumentation*
Sutures*
Tensile Strength

Substances

Nylons
Polyglycolic Acid