Assessment of surgical sutures POLYMED(®) by intracutaneous irritation test in rabbits

The aim of the present study was to evaluate local irritant effects to rabbit skin following a single application of test samples of non-sterile polyamide non-absorbable surgical sutures POLYMED(®). The polar and nonpolar extracts were prepared by using saline solution and olive oil, respectively, after sinking the materials tested (2.0 g) in 10 ml of the corresponding liquid. Incubation was carried out at the temperature of 37 °C for 72 h. The saline solution and pure olive oil, which had no contact with the materials tested, were used as negative control samples and were incubated under the same conditions as above. Assessments of the extracts from each material were conducted on 2 albino rabbits of the New Zealand breed. On the back of each animal, 5 intracutaneous injections of the extract tested and 5 injections of the control solution, each of 0.2 ml, were carried out. The degree of irritation was scored at 4, 24, 48, 72 hours after injection and no skin changes were found. The intracutaneous irritation index (III) was calculated and yielded 0.0. Hence it was concluded that under the experimental conditions the extracts of the material tested, i.e. non-sterile polyamide non-absorbable surgical sutures POLYMED(®), were 'non-irritant' to the skin of rabbits when compared with the respective control groups. The experimental procedure was conducted according to ISO10993-10.