Absorption and Tensility of Bioactive Sutures Prepared for Cell Transplantation

Dénes B Horváthy; Gabriella Vácz; Tamás Szabó; Károly Renner; Kinga Vajda; Balázs Sándor; Zsombor Lacza

doi:10.3390/ma6020544

Absorption and Tensility of Bioactive Sutures Prepared for Cell Transplantation

Materials (Basel). 2013 Feb 15;6(2):544-550. doi: 10.3390/ma6020544.

Authors

Dénes B Horváthy^{1

2}, Gabriella Vácz³, Tamás Szabó⁴, Károly Renner^{5

6}, Kinga Vajda⁷, Balázs Sándor⁸, Zsombor Lacza^{9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Human Physiology and Clinical Experimental Research, Semmelweis University, Tűzoltó 37-47, Budapest H-1094, Hungary. denes.horvathy@tissueengineering.hu.
² Department of Orthopedics, Semmelweis University, Karolina 27, Budapest H-1113, Hungary. denes.horvathy@tissueengineering.hu.
³ Institute of Human Physiology and Clinical Experimental Research, Semmelweis University, Tűzoltó 37-47, Budapest H-1094, Hungary. vaczgabi@gmail.com.
⁴ Department of Interfaces and Surface Modification, Institute of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pusztaszeri 59-67, Budapest H-1025, Hungary. szabo.tamas@chemres.hu.
⁵ Department of Interfaces and Surface Modification, Institute of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pusztaszeri 59-67, Budapest H-1025, Hungary. krenner@mail.bme.hu.
⁶ Department of Physical Chemistry and Material Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem 3, Budapest H-1111, Hungary. krenner@mail.bme.hu.
⁷ Institute of Human Physiology and Clinical Experimental Research, Semmelweis University, Tűzoltó 37-47, Budapest H-1094, Hungary. vajdakinga89@gmail.com.
⁸ Institute of Human Physiology and Clinical Experimental Research, Semmelweis University, Tűzoltó 37-47, Budapest H-1094, Hungary. sandorbm@gmail.com.
⁹ Institute of Human Physiology and Clinical Experimental Research, Semmelweis University, Tűzoltó 37-47, Budapest H-1094, Hungary. zlacza@mac.com.
¹⁰ Department of Orthopedics, Semmelweis University, Karolina 27, Budapest H-1113, Hungary. zlacza@mac.com.

Abstract

Biodegradable scaffolds are widely used to transplant stem cells into various tissues. Recent studies showed that living stem cells can be attached to the surface of absorbable sutures in vitro. Soaking the absorbable material polyglactin in a cell culture medium and thereby creating a stem cell biofilm on its surface may initiate the absorption process even before implantation; therefore, the physicochemical properties of the suture may be compromised in vivo. We found that pre-incubation of sutures in cell culture media in vitro results in tensile strength reduction and faster suture absorption in a rat model of muscle injury. Shorter incubation times of up to 48 h do not influence absorption or tensility; therefore, it is advisable to limit incubation times to two days for polyglactin-based cell delivery protocols.

Keywords: absorbable suture; absorption; cell therapy; stem cell; tensile properties.