Light-Activated Tissue-Integrating Sutures as Surgical Nanodevices

Deepanjan Ghosh, Russell Urie, Andy Chang, Rajeshwar Nitiyanandan, Jung Keun Lee, Jacquelyn Kilbourne, Kaushal Rege

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Sutures are typically the primary means of soft tissue repair in surgery and trauma. Despite their widespread use, sutures do not result in immediate sealing of approximated tissues, which can result in bacterial infection and leakage. Nonabsorbable sutures and staples can be traumatic to tissue, and the trauma can be exacerbated by their subsequent removal. Use of cyanoacrylate glues is limited because of their brittleness and toxicity. In this work, laser-activated tissue-integrating sutures (LATIS) are described as novel nanodevices for soft tissue approximation and repair. Incorporation of gold nanorods within fibers generated from collagen result in LATIS fibers which demonstrate robust photothermal responses following irradiation with near infrared laser light. Compared to conventional sutures, LATIS fibers result in greater biomechanical recovery of incised skin in a mouse model of skin closure after spine surgeries. Histopathology analyses show improved repair of the epidermal gap in skin, which indicate faster tissue recovery using LATIS. The studies indicate that LATIS-facilitated approximation of skin in live mice synergizes the benefits of conventional suturing and laser-activated tissue integration, resulting in new approaches for faster sealing, tissue repair, and healing.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number1900084
JournalAdvanced Healthcare Materials
Volume8
Issue number14
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 25 2019

Keywords

  • gold nanorods
  • nanodevice
  • photothermal
  • skin
  • trauma
  • wound healing

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biomaterials
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Pharmaceutical Science

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