Biodegradation of silk fibroin sutures

Abstract

Silk fibroin is a biocompatible natural polymer from Bombyx mori. Regenerated silk fibroin materials, such as films, nanofibers, and porous matrices, have been studied as useful biomaterials. Silk surgical sutures has long been used for long time, however, these fibers with high crystallinity have been recognized as the non-degradable materials. On the other hand, regenerated silk fibroin materials with low crystallinity are known to show biodegradation properties. In this study, silk sutures were prepared by wet-heating and alcohol-exposing treatments. In vitro Biodegradation properties of silk sutures prepared at different conditions were investigated. Behaviors of biodegradation of sutures were compared with Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and mechanical testing.