Evaluation in vitro of an Experimental Antibacterial Silk Suture

Because of good clinical performance and low cost,silk braided surgical suture becomes one of excellent and widely used sutures. But as a kind of natural protein fiber,silk easily trends to microbial infection. Beyond that,braided structure may increase the risk of hide of bacteria. Hence,the project of this study is to develop a novel antibacterial silk braided suture. Silk braided sutures were treated with antimicrobial solution which added antimicrobial agent4-quinolones into 5% polycaprolactone( PCL) solution. Then sutures were tested for in vitro efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus(S. aureus) and Escherichia coli(E. coli) by a zone of inhibition assay,and sustained efficacy assay,release of antibacterial agent,SEM photographs against S. aureus. Treated sutures exhibited distinct zones of inhibition against S. aureus and E. coli. They also kept antimicrobial property against S. aureus for 7 d,which were almost equal with coated VICRYL*Plus sutures. The highest release concentration of treated suture was 1. 53 mg /L,which was lower than Cmaxof 4-quinolones,proved the safety of antibacterial silk suture. SEM photographs gave both the change of the surface and different bacteria growth situations on the surface before and after treating.