Electrospun drug-eluting sutures for local anesthesia

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Surgical Innovation
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Sutures are essential for surgical repair.
• Postoperative pain management often relies on opioid analgesics, which carry risks.
• There is a need for integrated solutions that provide both wound closure and local analgesia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize a novel local anesthetic-eluting suture system.
• To evaluate the drug release kinetics and mechanical properties of the sutures.
• To assess the in vivo efficacy and safety of the anesthetic-eluting sutures in a preclinical wound model.

Main Methods:

• Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) sutures were fabricated using electrospinning, incorporating the local anesthetic bupivacaine.
• Tensile strength and drug release profiles were analyzed in vitro.
• The sutures' efficacy in providing local analgesia and promoting wound healing was evaluated in a rat skin wound model.

Main Results:

• Electrospun sutures successfully released bupivacaine over 12 days.
• Sutures maintained significant tensile strength after 14 days of incubation.
• In vivo studies demonstrated sustained local analgesia for approximately one week in 90% of treated rats, with normal wound healing observed.

Conclusions:

• The developed local anesthetic-eluting suture system effectively combines wound closure with sustained local pain relief.
• These sutures show promise in enhancing perioperative analgesia and potentially reducing the reliance on systemic opioid analgesics.
• The tissue reaction observed was comparable to existing PLGA sutures, suggesting a favorable safety profile.