Facile scalable one-step wet-spinning of surgical sutures with shape memory function and antibacterial activity for wound healing

Surgical suture is commonly used in clinic due to its action in accelerating the process of wound healing. However, difficultly handling in minimally invasive surgery and bacteria-induced infection usually limit its use in a wide range of applications. Here, we report a facile scalable strategy to fabricate surgical sutures with shape memory function and antibacterial activity for wound healing. Specifically, a shape memory polyurethane (SMPU) with a transition temperature (T_trans) at 41.3 °C was synthesized by adjusting the mole ratio of the hard/soft segment, and then the shape memory surgical sutures containing polyhexamethylene biguanide hydrochloride (PHMB) as a model drug for antibacterial activity were fabricated by a facile scalable one-step wet-spinning approach, in which PHMB was directly dissolved in the coagulation bath that enable its loading into the sutures through the dual diffusion during the phase separation. The prepared sutures were characterized by their morphology, mechanical properties, shape memory, antibacterial activity, as well as biocompatibility before the wound healing capability was tested in a mouse skin suture-wound model. It was demonstrated that the optimized suture is capable of both shape memory function and antibacterial activity, and promote wound healing, suggesting that the facile scalable one-step wet-spinning strategy provides a promising tool to fabricate surgical sutures for wound healing.